Showcase 1: Facebook
Measure A Case Study
Platform: Facebook Application
Client: Yes on A - Save SF General Hospital
Launched: October 2008
In Fall of 2008, San Francisco voters faced the prospect of losing SF General Hospital, a critical part of the region's emergency services and health care. A new mandate by the state to retrofit all hospitals by 2013 meant that voters would be asked to pass an $800 million bond to build a new hospital at a time when the national and local economic outlook was unpleasant at best. And the bond had to pass with a 66% majority as well. The firm of Barnes Mosher Whitehurst and Lauter (BMWL), contracted to pass the bond, had its work cut out for them.
Along with traditional campaign tools, BMWL partnered with Spot-on.com to produce a Facebook "Doorhanger" Application to promote the Yes on A campaign online. The Yes on A Doorhanger on Facebook accomplished several things at once for the campaign.
First, it allowed supporters to prominently display their support on their Facebook Profile. Second, it allowed the casual viewer of a supporter's profile to immediately take action to help the campaign with a donation, volunteer time, or find out more information, as well as add the application to their own profiles. The campaign also opted for a live feed of news from its website, so supporters would get the latest information via the application - instead of a barrage of emails. The application also seamlessly integrated with the campaign's website and online advertising, so voters got a consistent message and "look" at anything related to the Yes on A campaign.
Primary distribution of the application was accomplished by campaign volunteers, who invited only people they knew on Facebook to use the application. This "virtual precinct walk" by volunteers ensured that voters would hear the Yes on A message from a friend, not an anonymous piece of SPAM email.
The message of the campaign was simple and packed an emotional punch, so it was easy to explain to others why passing the bond was so important. Being visible on Facebook was especially useful in San Francisco - the site counts 320,000 people in the "San Francisco" network - and has about 425,000 registered voters.
The application launched just a few weeks after Labor Day, and ended up collecting over 1000 voters and opinion leaders via the application ,and another 500 via a Facebook Group organized by the campaign. The Yes on A application drove the campaign's message through Facebook's network, taking it off the page and into supporters' on-line lives.
On Election Day, Proposition A won with 78% of the vote. Turnout for the election in San Francisco was 81% - a record turnout. Because the Yes on A campaign used a smart mix of traditional and new media tools to get out their message on a budget in a crowded election cycle, it won, and even beat the required 2/3rds majority needed. Each component of the overall campaign played its part, but as with any bond measure, you can never be too safe, and in this case a Facebook Application was a nice boost to a superb campaign operation led by BMWL.
