Google > Case Studies > Obama for America uses Google Analytics to democratize rapid, data-driven decision making

Obama for America uses Google Analytics to democratize rapid, data-driven decision making

Customer Company Size

Large Corporate

Region

America

Country

United States

Product

Google Analytics

Tech Stack

Google Analytics API
Google Apps Script

Implementation Scale

Enterprise-wide Deployment

Impact Metrics

Brand Awareness
Customer Satisfaction

Technology Category

Analytics & Modeling - Real Time Analytics
Analytics & Modeling - Predictive Analytics

Applicable Functions

Sales & Marketing

Use Cases

Real-Time Location System (RTLS)
Predictive Quality Analytics

Services

Data Science Services

About The Customer

Obama for America (OFA) was the official re-election campaign for President Barack Obama in 2012. The campaign was based in Chicago, Illinois and its main goal was to engage supporters, reach and influence persuadable voters, and activate supporters to vote. The campaign was time-sensitive and required quick and easy access to actionable data for decision making. The campaign was effective because the teams had the discipline to relentlessly rely on data to assess performance, test changes, and improve. The Digital Analytics group served as a center for driving analysis best practices across teams.

The Challenge

Obama for America (OFA), the official re-election campaign for President Barack Obama in 2012, needed to engage supporters, reach and influence persuadable voters, and activate supporters to vote. The campaign was time-sensitive and required quick and easy access to actionable data. The ability to do rapid, real-time optimization was especially important during the Presidential and Vice Presidential debates. The campaign needed to speak to their supporters and persuadable voters who were researching online during the debates. They needed to anticipate issue-related search terms that they would need to target, but they couldn’t be prepared for every possibility.

The Solution

OFA used Google Analytics to make data accessible to all team members for rapid analysis, testing, and improvement. They used Real-Time data to get insight on messages and keywords that resonated with users during debates. They used Advanced Segments and Flow Visualization to guide optimization and testing. They leveraged the Google Analytics API to systematically deliver daily “Get Out the Vote” conversion reporting to all advertising team members. The campaign quickly saw which debate-related organic search terms brought the most viewers to the campaign website. They then designed and placed search ads on these terms on Google to direct users to facts about the President’s position on key issues. The campaign depended on the measurement capabilities of Google Analytics and the deep integration of data systems across the organization to continuously drive performance improvement across the site.

Operational Impact

The campaign was able to use Real-Time reports in Google Analytics to quickly see which debate-related organic search terms brought the most viewers to the campaign website.
The campaign was able to design and place search ads on these terms on Google to direct users to facts about the President’s position on key issues.
The campaign was able to establish a culture of analytical rigor and the focus on continual improvement as an essential part of the Obama campaign team’s success.
The campaign was able to use Google Analytics and the deep integration of data systems across the organization to continuously drive performance improvement across the site.

Quantitative Benefit

The campaign was able to achieve a resounding victory, with nearly every battleground state falling into the President’s column.
Numerous publications, including Politico, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal, have credited the campaigns’ Digital Marketing and Digital Analytics departments for providing much of the winning margin.