Online fundraising is for real – to the tune of half a billion dollars…

From the Washington Post:

“In an exclusive interview with The Post, members of the vaunted Triple O, Obama’s online operation, broke down the numbers: 3 million donors made a total of 6.5 million donations online adding up to more than $500 million. Of those 6.5 million donations, 6 million were in increments of $100 or less. The average online donation was $80, and the average Obama donor gave more than once.”

Yesterday, while going through my daily online news routine, I learned that DHL is stopping express delivery service in the US.

Then, last night I found the email to the right in my inbox from FedEx.

This is a wonderfully executed email marketing strategy by FedEx. The day after one of the company’s largest competitors announced they were exiting FedEx’s niche market, FedEx had a reassuring message out to its customers and contacts that it is still there for your shipping needs. FedEx beat UPS to the punch and, because of their rapid response online and off, has set themselves up to gain many former DHL customers.

What a perfect example of the time saving aspects of having a well managed email marketing program. And, as we’ve written here before, this email harnesses the benefits of digital communication by reaching your audience when its convenient for them, through email. 

So if FedEx, a globally successful corporation, isn’t too big for creating relationships through sound email marketing, then neither are you. Make it a fundamental part of your marketing efforts.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Flat Creek, a strategic online public affairs firm, emerged from the 2008 elections with 100 percent of their incumbent candidates being re-elected to office, as well as having worked with several successful ballot measures across the country.

“The 2008 election cycle brought online strategy and tactics to the mainstream in campaigns,” said Allen Fuller, Flat Creek’s Managing Partner. “We are thrilled that our clients found so much success in a very difficult political environment, especially where they were able to integrate new media into their day-to-day operations and voter outreach.”

Sens. Thad Cochran (MS), Roger Wicker (MS), and Lamar Alexander (TN), as well as Congressmen Tom Cole (OK-4) and Walter Jones (NC-3), were all successfully re-elected. Additionally, Flat Creek clients found success at the state level, with State Senators Jim Tracy (TN-16) and Shawn Mitchell (CO-23) successfully seeking re-election. State Representative Frank McNulty (CO-43) won handily, and will be joined by new State Representative Scott Tipton (CO-58) in January.

“Flat Creek gave us the tools and solutions to reach donors, volunteers, and ultimately voters across the state. Flat Creek showed us how to successfully manage a campaign’s online communications, an increasingly valuable component of any campaign moving forward,” said Austin Barbour, Wicker for Senate Campaign Manager.

All told, Flat Creek worked for campaigns or initiatives in 18 states during the 2008 cycle. This includes successful efforts in Colorado to pass Amendment 54 and oppose Amendment 59.

Flat Creek produced 286,428 website page views, processed $498,513 in campaign contributions, sent 1.2 million emails, and produced 6.9 million online impressions for its political clients.

Flat Creek offers a unique blend of traditional communications principles merged with cutting edge technology to provide strategic value to their clients. Flat Creek is a full-service digital agency, offering campaigns, issue advocacy groups, and other organizations services like online grassroots management, web design, hosting, e-mail blasts, online social networking, fundraising, online advertising and blogger outreach. Flat Creek also provides campaigns back office tools including databases, voter files, and secure online scheduling tools for candidates and campaign surrogates.

The firm is already preparing for 2010 with the upcoming launch of RootsHQ, a comprehensive online campaign management tool that will allow any campaign, PAC, or issue group to manage their volunteers, donors, staff, surrogates, and coalitions from one secure website. RootsHQ gives candidates the ability to get a website up and running within hours not weeks, including the ability to accept online donations and send outbound e-mails.

“Barack Obama set new standards for what a successful campaign looks like,” Fuller said. “The challenge for Republicans now is to accept the lessons learned from 2008 while adapting them to our own coalitions and message.”

Flat Creek has experience providing communications planning and technical expertise at all levels of campaigning, from state house to White House. For more information, please visit www.fcreek.com, or contact Blake Parsons at 615-469-7942 x 15.

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In The Boston Globe, a former Romney communications advisor lements the decline of traditional media and pleads with online media to more closely adhere to a journalistic “code of ethics.”

“Where are the online gatekeepers? Gatekeeping is the most important function for the offline media. Editors decide which stories get published. They make sure rumors aren’t printed. Sensitive information is double- and sometimes triple-sourced. Gatekeeping serves an important purpose in establishing the ethics of journalism. Sadly, it doesn’t exist on the Web.”

Unfortunately for traditional PR and communications people, that horse has left the barn.

Successfully managing online communications involves more than technology. It involves a seasoned communications perspective capable of responding quickly in a volatile message environment.

(Cross-posted at PolicyMedia.com)

There are a lot of naysayers out there who don’t think it makes sense to use new media when you are targeting an older audience (ahem, campaign folk – I’m talking to you).

Well, the AARP might make us think again.

Few to none have been better at marketing to a senior (or as my mother would remind me, “mature”) audience than the AARP. They sell many services to that audience and have a fairly sizeable presence on Captiol Hill. They know this audience, so when they take a new strategic initiative, it’s worth taking a look.

From Ragan.com:

The nonprofit launched daily news site AARP Bulletin Today and redesigned its Web site last spring (the site came out of beta testing in September) to include Web 2.0 features to prepare for what it expects will be an exponentially growing user base, Clark says Nataki Clarke, director of online marketing.

“I think social networking is helping us demonstrate that we can be very relevant,” says Clarke, who had the numbers to back her up. “We ended August with 2.7 million unique visitors. Last August, we were at 1.9 million. That means almost a million people have discovered us in just a year,” she says.