MEMORANDUM

PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE SMITH

TO:
CLAUDIA VILLALOBOS, CAMPAIGN CONSULTANT
FROM:
SUBJECT: ANALYSIS OF THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 2012
DATE:

This memorandum concerns the success of your candidacy in

the 2016 Presidential Election in order to prepare you campaign
Smith. After conducting a research on the different strategies used
during the presidential election of 2012, Ive discovered that media
played a big part in President Obamas success against Romney. I
analyzed a couple of the political commercials Obama and Romney
used for their 2012 campaigns, and how each candidate was able to
connect with their audience. Moreover, it is important to watch the
swing states because they play an essential role if you happen to lose
the popular vote. I focused my research on analyzing Colorado and
Wisconsin as well as their demographic and political structure. Please
read over my analysis carefully and consider them for your campaign
strategy prior to developing or committing to a campaign strategy.
In order to be effective in your campaign, Smith, you must
invest in the production of political commercial ads that show
Americans why you are a great candidate. A positive commercial I
enjoyed was from President Obamas campaign, Today We Fight For
Change, showing how he connected with the audience and used
comedy as a way to break the ice during his speech in Wisconsin. He
expressed his intentions to continue to make change in our nation. He
spoked of the frustration America feels in regards to the pace of
change in this country but he added how successful he was in
accomplishing some of his promises like ending war in Iraq, passing
the health care reform and repealing Dont ask, dont tell (DADT).
The video was upbeat, persuasive, and expressed patriotism. With soft
subtle background music and a close face to face shot you can use a

campaign commercial to reach out and become more personal to hard

working Americans.
Importance of social media
Its clear that social media plays a great role in supporting
campaign efforts. Obama became to be known as the first social
media President, who was able to win the social media battle. Based
on my research upon the 2012 media campaign, I learned that Obama
spent 47 million on digital ads, vs. Romney who only spent 4.7 million.
Social media is the best way to get voters attention; its a great
strategy that provides results. Aside from social media, media
advertising is also a good campaign. Based on my research on Obama
and Romneys media advertising that I watched on YouTube, I learned
that media advertising is about how we present the message and the
message itself. The way we present it must be interesting and
appealing enough for us to convince the people to vote for you.
What is social media? Social media or social networking refers
to the use of the Internet for blogging, microblogging, media sharing,
photo sharing, video sharing, wikis, discussion boards, and social
networking. Social media includes text, images, audio, and video.
Some examples of social media are:
Blogs, and micro-blogs such as WordPress and Twitter.
Social networks, such as Facebook and MySpace.
Professional networks, such as Linkedin.
Video sharing, such as YouTube and vlogs (video weblogs).
Audio sharing, such as podcasts.
Photo sharing, such as Flickr and Photobucket.
What makes an effective ad? Ads that once were only seen in a
handful of states are seen by millions on the candidates website, You
Tube, or one of the many video hubs on the Internet. Our society is
now turning to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, You Tube, and blogs as
sources of information. During election cycles here in America, social
media has become a way to find out more about presidential
candidates. As a result, social media is an effective wat to capture and
connect with all the different audience out there. Becoming more

social media savvy will definitely win you votes. You have to target a
large demographic who usually dont vote through the use of the
Internet. This includes Americans ages 18-25. The Internet is
definitely a unique way to get across to the millions of people that are
always online. The Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life
Project states that young adults (ages 18 to 29) are the most likely to
use social media fully 90% do. Still, usage among those 65 and older
has more than tripled since 2010 when 11% used social media. Today,
35% of all those 65 and older report using social media, compared
with just 2% in 2005. As a result, it appears that it will be extremely
important for you to utilize social media to move forward in your
campaign.
Importance of the Swing states
There are several determining factors that influence voting
during election time. As your official Campaign Consultant it is my
duty to address these factors in effort to maximize the voting
population and understated in which demographic groups we can
improve voter turnout. I have put together demographics for the state
of Colorado and Wisconsin for the year of 2012.
Colorados median household income is $56,765, which tells us
that this state is occupied by many middle class families. Only 46.4%
of the people from ages 18-24 have completed some college or have
an associate's degree, but only 28% have graduated high school.
Using this information, we can promote the importance of education
and make sure that it is available to more students. By these
statistics, we can see that our focus in winning their votes would be to
make sure that students are able to flourish more in schools and be
certain that thy get the help that they need. While taking these
numbers into consideration, you must be willing to provide enough
resources to encourage this particular demographic that their vote is
just as valuable as the next. These efforts could potentially persuade
these non-utilized votes in your favor.

From the total population in Colorado, 3,528,458 are of white

ethnicity and Hispanics follow them by a total of 1,040,478. From my
research I also learned that men tend to vote more than women. It is
also very clear that the older population go out and vote more than
the younger population does. It is our responsibility to support women
and promote sexual equality and make sure that there is a popular,
influential woman within your campaign. We also have to encourage
the young population to vote in elections, and to do so we must be
able to understand the target audience. We must discuss issues that
matter to women and the young population in order to get them out to
vote.
On the other hand, Wisconsins median household income is
lower than Colorado. Their household income is $51,059; it is $5,706
lower than Colorados. More people completed some college or have
an associate degree in comparison to Colorado: 47.7% of the people
ages 18-24 have completed some college or have received an
associates degree, and 30.2% have graduated high school. We can
clearly see that education is much higher in Wisconsin, but like
Colorado we must emphasize education. According to these statistics,
education is not valued as much as other states and we need to show
its importance. We must inform the citizens that we are aware of their
problems and we will do our best to solve them; we must show unity.
Wisconsin is largely dominated by whites; from the total
population 4,737,471 are of white ethnicity. African Americans and
Hispanics follow them. Also, after my research I concluded that
women in Wisconsin tend to vote more than men. We must increase
the female vote or have both genders vote equally. Again we must
promote sexual equality and by having a well-known female in the
campaign we will attract both male and females to vote.
We need to be aware of both swing states as they can help us
win the Presidential Election in 2016. We need to pay close attention
to the minorities in both states. In Colorado, Asian and African
Americans are the larger minority populations. In Wisconsin, Asians
are the larger minority population. African Americans and Asians, in

particular, tent to self-identify as democrats. Depending on which

party you identify as, youll need to find mid ground for Whites and
the minority groups. We must act early in order to be successful and
validate our principles. I feel we have a better chance at targeting
individuals under 50 since there seems to be a significant amount of
individuals in each age category for both states. Because we are
targeting individuals under 50, investing in social media
advertisement only makes sense.
I am confident that the campaign will thrive if my suggestions
are followed. All of the components in this memorandum contribute to
each other and will help each of the elements appear stronger. The
swing states are very important in the last moments of the election,
therefore cannot be lost or forgotten. The video marketing is needed
to inform our audience of our cause. Finally, social media, which I
believe is very important, must be focused on because it spreads our
message worldwide. We need to make the citizens of the United
States aware of what you can do to benefit the country. If you convey
American beliefs and unity, you will gain the support of many citizens.
Citations
YouTube. (2012, November 6). Today We Fight For Change OFA
Wisconsin. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=cSN6Mg765NA
D'Angelo, J. (2014, August 18). The True Potential of Social Media.
Retrieved from http://reiffcenterblog.cnu.edu/2014/08/the-true-potential-ofsocial-media/
Perrin, A. (2015, October 8). Social Media Usage: 2005-2015. Retrieved
from http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/10/08/social-networking-usage-20052015/
U.S. Bureau of the Census. Median Household Income. ONLINE. Colorado.
2012. Retrieved from
http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/12_1YR/B19013/0400000
US08

U.S. Bureau of the Census. Median Household Income. ONLINE.

Wisconsin. 2012. Retrieved from
http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/12_1YR/B19013/0400000
US55
U.S. Bureau of the Census. Educational Attainment. ONLINE. Colorado.
2012. Retrieved from
http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/12_1YR/S1501/0400000U
S08
U.S. Bureau of the Census. Educational Attainment. ONLINE. Wisconsin.
2012. Retrieved from
http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/12_1YR/S1501/0400000U
S55
U.S. Bureau of the Census. Educational Attainment. ONLINE. Wisconsin.
2012. Retrieved from
http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/12_1YR/S1501/0400000U
S55

Greenberg, Edward S., and Benjamin I. Page. The Struggle for

Democracy. 2014 Elections and updates edition.