Campaign.org

Salesforce.com has created Campaignforce, a web-based on demand customoer relationship management application (crm) for politics online.

 From a CNET article:

“Online political campaigning has come a long way since Howard Dean’s turkey sandwich fund-raiser. ”

“Campaignforce mash-ups may even replace the need for college volunteers to serve as online media watchdogs. Using Web-based APIs (application program interfaces) Campaignforce can tell politicians the YouTube views for Barack Obama, searches for Sam Brownback on Google, or how many articles on John McCain have appeared on Yahoo News. It also works to manage staffers and volunteers in coordination with get-out-the-vote efforts and campaign events, while monitoring the campaign trail with Google Maps.”

“Salesforce.com said an incarnation of its program is already being used by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.”  read full article…

From the Orlando Sentinel:

“About half of Democrats and one-quarter of Republican donors in 2004 made at least one of their contributions online, according to a study by the Institute for Politics, Democracy & the Internet at Washington’s George Washington University.

This time, candidates will need to use the Internet for money and advertising as well as mobilizing support, Turk said.

During the first quarter of this year, Obama, for instance, raised nearly $7 million online — close to the amount candidates raised four years ago from all sources during that time period. And most of it came in small increments well below federal limits on donations, meaning he can go back to those donors and ask for more. 

Jagoda said politicians have lagged behind the business world in using the Internet. Online ads are much cheaper than television and can be better targeted to particular groups of voters. And it gives campaigns an option besides “the 50th television ad” that voters will be sick of. “TV is increasingly not the way people are receiving their entertainment or their information,” she said.”  read more…

More People Go Online for Political Information than Any Other Medium
From Entrepreneur

“According to a study by Burst Media, about 25 percent of likely voters said the Internet was the best place to research candidates’ positions and election issues. About 21 percent said TV was the best source, while more than 17 percent said newspapers.”

 From Forbes 4/4/07:
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/04/04/ap3584830.html

“With a stunning $25 million fundraising haul for his presidential campaign, Democrat Barack Obama affirmed his status Wednesday as Hillary Rodham Clinton’s chief rival.

His campaign released additional details illustrating the breadth of Obama’s support. He had 100,000 contributors in the first quarter, with more than half donating online for a total of $6.9 million. Clinton, by contrast, had about 50,000 contributors and raised $4.2 million online.”
read more…

With more than 100,000 donors, twice as many as Clinton, Obama is proving that harnessing the vast reach of the Internet is a powerful strategy.

From MSNBC:
http://www.nbc6.net/msnbcnews/11519742/detail.html

“A presidential campaign is a peculiar, short-lived kind of start-up business, and like other firms it has overhead: the costs of being in business.”

“As a general rule, 75 percent of a campaign’s outlays will ultimately go to paid communication: direct mail, radio, television and Internet ads, said Craig Smith, the campaign manager for Sen. Joe Lieberman’s presidential effort in 2003-2004.”
read more…

But if some of that communications money was invested in a prime generic domain name for politics like Campaign.org, that asset has a long term use - one that can dramatically reduce advertising costs for years to come.

From Bloomberg:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=aMj54a65hFjY&refer=home

“Dean helped revolutionize presidential campaigning by harnessing the power of the Internet. This year, Clinton’s campaign bragged she took in $4.2 million over the Internet during the first three months of 2007. Edwards, 53, brought in $3.3 million online. ”

From ABC News:
 http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=2999460

“Both campaigns trumpeted funds raised on the Internet. The Clinton campaign said it raised $4.2 million that way. The Edwards campaign said it had raised $3.3 million online from 37,000 contributors.”