Viral Video in Political Campaigns

With political campaigns now poised to spend hundreds of millions of dollars in advertising that will blanket television before the elections, this seemingly home-produced video -- created with software and a laptop and likely without the benefit of a team of expensive political consultants -- opens a new window: It shows a brave new world in which passionate activists outside the structure of traditional campaigns have the power to shape the message - even for a candidate as well known in his state of Colorado as Hickenlooper - with viral video. Viral, meaning the content will be forwarded via email, be the subject of blogs and be mentioned not just in Internet media but also by the so-called "mainstream" media: television, radio and newspapers.

Viral videos can help campaigns in creating initial interest, much like a "hook"or the cover of a book or a movie trailer. For instance, if it's funny and innovative, the superficial "wrapper" can lead people to want to know more. Of course, the "hook" should be tailored to the targeted voter. Viral campaigns can help in targeting a certain demographic, specifically young voters. It's no secret that the early adopters of the Internet and its nuances -- blogs, videos, instant messaging, etc. -- are young and technologically progressive and, in many instances, alienated from politics. It has been estimated that the majority of the under 30 crowd depend on the Internet rather than traditional media for getting news. Views are a great way to understand if a video is being seen but it is not the only measure of success. What is needed to understand is if the video is doing well in a marketing sense: Are people really engaging with the videos? Do they provide ratings and comments on them? Are they sharing the video with others? Do they embed the videos in their blogs and social networking profiles? If yes, then the candidate has done a great job in content creation, positioning, and promotion of the video. Effective political viral videos usually operate on a lighter, sometimes playful and superficial plane. Specifically, campaigns are looking for what makes videos both viral and politically effective. For a candidate, it's not enough to make a video that goes viral if it is merely sensationalist or captures a huge audience. It also has to promote the candidate effectively. Moreover, even if a video goes viral, usually it cannot communicate broad and complex positions. By its very nature, a video can help shape an image, especially by personalizing and "de-wonking" a candidate. A great example is the video by Hillary Clinton, a parody on the last episode of "The Sopranos" in the 2008 primary election. By using humor, the video helped soften Hilary's image, perceived by some as smart but humorless.

Viral videos are attractive tools for political campaigns which could orchestrate these videos on the down low to communicate negative messages -- without having to own them in public. But the individual viral video efforts popping up on the Internet, however creative, come with risk for political campaigns -- especially presidential runs where nuance and caution usually win out over edginess when it comes to shaping messages that appeal to wide swaths of voters The best advantage of Online videos is that they can really help stretch a budget. For resource-challenged candidates, videos offer the opportunity to reach out to millions for less than the price of filming a single TV ad, let alone running it on even a few local stations. Clearly viral videos can't carry an entire campaign, as the voter base is quite varied in its access to and familiarity with the Internet. For the foreseeable future, campaigns will have to also rely on the traditional ways of meeting voters: door knocking, literature via U.S. mail, radio and TV ads.