This week, digital director of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign revealed in an interview on the 60 Minutes show that Facebook was “the highway” that guided the then Republican candidate to victory.
Brad Parscale, who was been categorized as the Trump team’s secret weapon, started a small web-building business years ago. He is credited today as one of the main reason for the candidate’s positive outcome in the election. The team assigned 80% of its budget on cyberspace advertising on Facebook, in a strategy that positioned Mark Zuckerberg’s social network as a five-hundred pound gorilla, according to Parscale himself.
During the campaign, the Parscale team had about 100 members, including Facebook’s own people – receiving the same treatment that was given to any corporate client. Up to 100,000 custom ads were released by the team on the busiest days, resulting in an incredible $240 million in micro-donations; by including a button that gave the option to include contributions.
Of course, following these revelations, Facebook has stated that it will take greater care and establish a protocol of action around advertising during political campaigns.
The most incredible thing about the whole theme – and of course, what concerns us – is hidden in the word customization.
It is no secret that marketing is focused on sharing with the customer exactly what they want to hear, but this gets complicated in the age of mass communication. Today each message can be fine-tuned to identify with the interests of each potential customer, with the intention of directly communicating something that may generate a reaction to a product or service.
This is the beautiful thing about recorded internet activity elements on the internet and social media – and what scares dystopian fans. And when this information is used in the favor of a business, it can be the difference between finding or not finding your perfect audience.
At Mijo! Brands we can help you clarify the message of your brand, define your target audience, and make it visible in the borderless world that opens each time we connect with a device.
Andrea Herrera is a Digital Strategy Leader with Mijo! Brands, a leading creative digital agency with offices in CDMX and Puerto Vallarta. Visit us at mijobrands.com or contact us.