Political slogans lend themselves well to the quick-hit style of Twitter conversation. #WeBuiltIt is already a hashtag that's been popularized since Republicans and Mitt Romney's campaign seized on comments made by President Barack Obama suggesting business owners had assistance from their communities and government in building their companies.
On Tuesday, when Republicans meet in Tampa, Florida for the second day, the theme will be "We Built It." Observers can expect party stalwarts to post a hurricane of tweets employing the #WeBuiltIt hashtag, particularly on that day.
During a press call this morning, Romney Campaign Strategist Russ Schriefer laid out the overarching messages for each day of the four-day event next week. "We can do better" is the phrase for Monday, while Wednesday's middle class agenda focus will be labeled "We can change it." The wrap-up on Thursday will be marked by the "We believe in America" theme. Most likely, all of these will be turned into hashtags for quick Twitter dissemination.
The Romney camp and GOP may also generate some digital buzz via Olympians who will be attending and speaking. Kimberly Rhode, a 2012 women's skeet shooting gold medalist will be among the three speakers who no doubt will highlight Romney's experience running the Organizing Committee for the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. This is an event during which they'll be allowed to tweet without restrictions from the International Olympic Committee.
Schriefer also noted the Republican National Committee will be commemorating longtime Texas Congressman and primary candidate Ron Paul in a video that "will give testimony to his principles and dedication to America." The video most likely will show up online, too.
The We Built It concept has surfaced in a variety of campaign materials from the Romney camp and Republicans. Romney has posted several YouTube videos featuring small business owners in swing states entitled "These Hands." Google searches turn up ads for Romney that state, "You did built it - Tell President Obama he's wrong."
RT
— RNC (@GOP) July 26, 2012@reince: You built your business …. Not the government. Here's your chance to tell your story youtu.be/lifCb7z7x18
Display ads from the campaign spotted around the web declared, "You did build your business. Share your story." Romney's Facebook Timeline also at one point featured a "We did built it" banner. The theme has shown up all over Romney campaign gear, too. The RNC has also gotten in on the act using a #BuiltByUs tag on Twitter.
The National Republican Congressional Committee has used the message to generate thousands of email sign-ups, according to NRCC Digital Director Gerrit Lansing, who spoke with ClickZ recently about the issue. Earlier in August, Lansing said Facebook posts alluding to Obama's comments brought in 15,000 new emails.
"I think this is a great acquisition opportunity, but the message of it...this is how Obama looks at the economy...is going to be the greater benefit here," he told ClickZ.
In order to rebuild our economy, we need to encourage the success of hard working entrepreneurs, not tear them down. mi.tt/MxOzvM
— Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) July 19, 2012
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Kate Kaye was Managing Editor at ClickZ News until October 2012. As a daily reporter and editor for the original news source, she covered beats including digital political campaigns and government regulation of the online ad industry. Kate is the author of Campaign '08: A Turning Point for Digital Media, the only book focused on the paid digital media efforts of the 2008 presidential campaigns. Kate created ClickZ's Politics & Advocacy section, and is the primary contributor to the one-of-a-kind section. She began reporting on the interactive ad industry in 1999 and has spoken at several events and in interviews for television, radio, print, and digital media outlets. You can follow Kate on Twitter at @LowbrowKate.
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