Why I’m Voting for Ed in 08…

I’ve officially decided that I’m voting for Ed in 2008. And yes, I admit that this decision is primarily on the premises of the campaign’s marketing and social media efforts. But let me explain….Ed in 08?

My exposure to the Ed in 08′ campaign began when one of my teacher friend’s proudly presented her Ed in 08′ “toolkit” in which she had ordered. I must say, the kit itself came shipped in a very well designed box (which she still refuses to throw away), and came equipped with a T-shirt, campaign information, and a specific call to action to take a picture with the T-shirt and submit it to the site.As I found myself visiting the site, I quickly noticed that Ed in 08′ was immediately proof that traditional marketing can successfully work hand in hand with social media. After all, the design and strategy of the direct mail piece and the collateral materials had successfully sparked my interest enough to drive me to visit the campaign website. The website then used social media aspects to convince me to stay for a while.

The strong calls to action of the website itself led me to an Ed in 08′ Flickr page with pictures of both the common folk and celebrities with their “Ed in 08′ shirts”, then to check out a “community” section for members to openly discuss the campaign, then to a news feed pulling the newest developments of the campaign across the US, then to an “issues” page with embedded videos, and then to web badges and buttons to be shared on advocate blogs, social network profiles, and websites.So because of these social media components being integrated into the campaign, the site was undeniably sticky. And the longer I was there, the more it made me feel as me and many other like me were involved.

So with this being said, I encourage you to check it out and see a great example of a campaign that merged social media marketing tactics with traditional marketing tactics. And if you visit the site my teacher friend advises you to order a kit – if nothing else for the “sturdy and reliable” box.



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