Campaign '08: A Turning Point For Digital Media

If most media outlets covering the presidential campaigns had anything to say about it, Facebook, YouTube, blogs, and other social media phenomena would get all the credit for making 2008 the most digital election ever. But that’s only half the Web story. Many of the campaigns used a far more measurable online campaign tactic: paid online advertising. Throughout the election season, Campaign ’08 author Kate Kaye closely followed the paid efforts of the campaigns, observing their display and search advertising, how they bought online media, where they targeted their ads, what the goals were, and how much they spent. Coupling her extensive research with information gleaned from campaign insiders, Kaye tells the story of the most advanced political digital marketing campaigns in history.

Few people can say they’ve followed digital political advertising since 2002, but Kate Kaye is one. Today Kate is a trusted source on the topic, discussing it at speaking engagements and in interviews for television, radio, print, and digital media outlets. In her current role as Senior News Editor at ClickZ, Kate created the publication’s section dedicated to covering the digital marketing and advertising components of the 2008 presidential campaigns. Kate was Associate Editor and contributing writer for Personal Democracy Forum in 2005, where she covered the emerging technology sector serving political campaigns and issue advocacy groups.