Barack’s Digital Media Revealed

In three weeks the Presidential race will be over and the country will move on to other, more pressing issues. Before that happens, though, I wanted to comment on Barack Obama’s innovative use of new media and how it truly connected with young people throughout the country. From the brilliant design of barackobama.com to his use of text messaging, his campaign has made new media a focal part of their strategy and it’s paid off in spades.

The first thing I noticed about Barack’s campaign was the evolution of his website, with it’s current incarnation being the best of the three. Todd Ziegler of the Bivings Report blog has a really good post about the evolution of his website design. Looking at the screen shots that Mr. Ziegler cataloged, it’s obvious that Obama’s team has worked tirelessly to keep the site moving forward. By taking “away” more information and streamlining the presentation of information has made it a much more effective user experience.

Although most designers I know to do not endorse using a splash page, I think Obama’s is the rare case where it is effective. Why? It serves a purpose. Rather than making us wait for some over-produced animation to play out, we are greeted with it’s purpose right away: to donate. The entry boxes are big and wide and the “Skip Signup” is easy to access. It works because of its simplicity. We get it, and whether we donate or not, the process of continuing on is short and straight forward.

The web site design is an elegant combination of functionality and design. The color palette is consistent and evenly distributed. Each section is clearly boxed and sepereted, a must when trying to present a bevy of information to the end user. They embraced the blog format, which was smart considering the demographics of their core supporters. While designers used to be terrified to make someone scroll (god forbid) blog have pretty much eliminated that worry if the site is done right.

Another thing I noticed about Barack’s strategy was the constant use of, and referral to, new technologies. Case in point: Here is Barack’s campaign manger, David Plouffe, making a video for his constituents on his laptop.

This is the first time I can remember official media coming from a Presidential campaign in something other than slick, professionally produced commercials. Going high tech for a “lo tech” product is a great strategy. First, he connects with younger people who are familiar with the technology and appreciate the campaigns use of it. Second, the personal, video diary quality of Mr. Plouffe’s clips have a personal, real feel to them. A great supplement to the slick campaign ads that we see on the networks. Going further, they even branded their YouTube page to mirror that of the campaign so it seems like a seamless extention of the main site.

Not only does Mr. Plouffe get the “lo tech” treatment, but many videos on Barack’s site carry the “documentary” YouTube feel. Here is one such video featuring Rep. Keith Ellison speaking to a group of Arab Americans. Notice the sound echo and flat lighting. While it doesn’t do much for the art of video making, it comes off as real, authentic and immediate.

These are a few of my thoughts as this campaign season winds down. I’ll be posting more thoughts as we wind our way to November 4th.

Keep fighting,
Pablo