Obama Steps Up Online Advertising on Campaign

Friday, February 22nd, 2008;
-- Janet Meiners |

Barack Obama set a record in January by raising the highest amount of any candidate in a primary race. Online advertising may have contributed to his astonishing success. He raised $36.8 million last month compared to Hillary Rodham Clinton’s $19.7 million. Obama beat his staff’s projections of $32 million.

Unfortunately the reports I read don’t break down how the funds came through except to distinguish between individual and corporate donations. However, there is some data about candidate’s focus on raising money through display advertising.

Since January 2007, presidential candidates launched 277 million display ad impressions. And like in the primaries, Obama has taken the lead here. According to research by Nielsen Online AdRelevance, Barack Obama ran over 70 million display ads in January. Contrast that with John McCain’s 19 million display ad views.

Most of the ads are run on Yahoo, who is the leader for display advertising (Google tops search advertising). Recent numbers say that display ads make up about 21% of all online advertising.

I noticed that Obama, Clinton, and McCain all have very targeted sites with splash pages and home pages asking for contributions. Incidentally all three also have blogs.

** Andy Beal is hosting the first ever online reputation management workshop. Register today and save $400!! **

8 Responses to “Obama Steps Up Online Advertising on Campaign”

  1. SteveRosenbaum Says:

    I wonder how much came from Oprah?

  2. Mike Montague Says:

    70 million ad displays in one month is insane!

  3. GoWFB Says:

    Those are some amazing figures!

  4. Futon-Matt Says:

    Those numbers are staggering, that’s so much.

  5. free xbox 360 Says:

    i stumble allot and it seems every other page is on obama.

    70 million displays is nuts aswell

  6. Jayson Says:

    70 million in January!! I guess advertising works, it would appear that he’s on his way to the white house.

    Do the politicians actually write on their blogs? I wonder if they rank well for things they stand for e.g. gun control or immigration? If I was running, I’d optimize for my competitors keywords…just for fun.

  7. Steven Bradley Says:

    Wow. $70 million ads. Hard to fathom. Imagine what the next election will look once the candidates truly embrace the medium.

  8. GoWFB Says:

    This battle between the two Democrats has the whole world riveted, it is such an interesting tussle: a woman and a black man, both anomalies at the White House!

Leave a Reply

Please read our comment policy.