I called 2006 the year of the first YouTube election because of the surge of political ads showing up on the grassroots-populated video site - and not just ads from political ad shops. As election day drew near, YouTube became a favorite way for creative individuals to publish "ads" they created in support of or in opposition to candidates they favored or opposed, or to distribute video clips for the same reason.
From Sen. George Allen's "macaca" moment, which contributed to ending both his senatorial re-election bid and his 2008 presidential hopes, on down to the unflattering video of a Democratic state senate candidate in Tennessee whining before a judge about a speeding ticket, YouTube - and other social media - have brought a new element to American politics.
A few months before the election, the non-partisan trade association E-Voter Institute issued a report forecasting that between 2006 and 2008, the percentage of consultants who devote over 20 percent of their campaign coffers to Web initiatives will nearly triple from 12 percent to 32 percent. ClickZNews reports that surveyed consultants cited rich media, newspaper site ads, Web sites, e-mail and blogs among the more effective means of campaigning online.
Consultants cited rich media, newspaper site ads, Web sites, e-mail and blogs among the more effective means of campaigning online. From ClickZ:
According to E-Voter's "Moving to the Mainstream: Web-Based Political Communications on the Road to 2008," 44 percent of the 155 political consultants surveyed in July estimate that 1 to 5 percent of campaign budgets will go towards an online effort this year. Thirty-eight percent said 6 to 20 percent will go online in '06. And 11 percent said 2 to 50 percent will go towards the Web.
The estimates shift quite a bit in the Web's favor for the 2016 election season, by which time, said 42 percent of consultants, 21 to 50 percent of budgets will move online. Also by 2016, thirty percent of consultants said 6 to 20 percent of budgets would be allocated to the Web, and 18 percent said over 51 percent of budgets would go online.
"There is a downward trend in consultants' hesitation with using the Internet, particularly views of the Internet being an unlikely reach medium, too expensive and not an emotional medium," notes the report. It found that 9 percent of consultants surveyed said the Web is an unlikely reach medium, down from 21 percent in 2002. In addition, contentions that the Internet is too expensive dropped to 1 percent, and arguments that the Web is not an emotional medium decreased from 8 to 3 percent since '02.
You can download the E-Voter Institute's report at their website.
Comment Preview