Obama’s election campaign and the integrated use of social\ud media

When Barack Obama won the 2008 US Presidential election he\ud did so partly as a result of harnessing the power of social media to\ud communicate with, and enlist the support of, millions of Americans who\ud had never previously been active in the processes of an election campaign.\ud As a result of Obama‘s invitation and his use of new media, some of the\ud poorest members of the world‘s wealthiest nation found themselves able\ud to make a critical contribution through a myriad of small activities starting\ud from seemingly inconsequential choices such as the selection of a mobile\ud phone ring tone. Although ‗people power‘ is not a new force in politics,\ud the Obama campaign set a fresh benchmark for inclusive ways in which to\ud communicate to and with a holistic cross section of the American people,\ud including many who would not have been previously seen as a critical\ud ‗target market‘. This paper examines Obama‘s use of integrated\ud communications and considers the potential implications for other\ud campaigns which may have an inclusion agenda