Getting Ready for
The Digital Indian General Elections 2009!
Saurabh Pandey
Why Youth? Why Digital?
Urban Youth Participation in India
• Participation of Indian Youth in 2004 General
Elections:
37m Urban eligible to vote
Only about 6 million voted out of 60m eligible Youths on the internet. (Over 60%
to vote youths. of all eligible to vote youths in
India are on the web!)
(Source: India Today, Sep 2008, Juxt Consultant Report 2008))
Power of Youth
Voters
18-29
36%
rest
64%
36% of all eligible voters in India are YOUTH!
Youth can be influenced: if they can be engaged and listened to!
Opportunity Awaiting
The youth turnout in the US almost doubled to17 per
cent this election in comparison to the 9 per cent in the
Opportunity to bring in a total of 2000 elections.
10.02m additional Voters (by (Source: India Today, Sep 2008)
increasing The % of urban youth voter
turnout From 9% to 18%)
I believe it was due to an aggressive presence of
candidates on Internet and that similar results can
be repeated in India.
Who is more popular on the web?
After the
launch of
lkadvani.in
Advani’s
popularity
on web
increased.
Having a web strategy is critical-even more for a candidate who faces
a wide generation gap in India!
Food for thought: what if Rahul Gandhi activates his internet presence?
Key Phases
Target with
Segment customized
Communication
Observe, Track Listen, Engage,
and Analyze & Empower
4 Key Areas
• Presence on Social Media
– Listen to the youth
– Update the youth on your vision
– Use the youth to spread the word around
– Drive them to vote
– After winning –keep the youth updated on your promises and agenda
• Use of Virals
– Collaboration with key vision
– Spreading the message
• Use of CRM and Analytics
• Telecom Strategy
– Reminder and call for action
Key Segments
Young Men (21-38 years)
• 16million access internet. Young and discerning, but don’t vote regularly.
Young Women (21-35 years)
• 4 million access internet. Are independent and can influence. Hardly
vote.
Teenagers (12-20)
• 16 million access internet. May influence their parents and elder siblings
Seniors (Above 50 years)
• About 1 million. Children independent. Vote regularly
Need to develop, individual communication and deploy unique media vehicles
for each segment
Where are these Segments?
Social Network Content Search Applications
Young Men Linkedin, Travel, News, Tech/Business Email, shopping,
FaceBook, Cricket, Jobs, analysis, Jobs, bill payment,
Twitter Movies, e- Loans, news online banking
commerce, blogs analysis, research and investment,
forums and knowledge, blogs
others (rentals
and matrimony)
Young Women FaceBook, Women, Movies, Business, Email, blogs
Linkedin lifestyle, blogs, research and
forums knowledge
Teenagers Orkut, MySpace Music, Sports Results, higher Gaming,
education, new Chatting, music
songs, academic download
terms
Seniors - News, Medicine, Medical Chat, email
Matrimony conditions,
locations, news
and matrimony
Targeted Communication
• Now that we are aware of where these segments are, we need to
– Create a Communication Hero and theme
– Finalize Media Vehicles
– Contextualize our communication
– Fix exposure frequency and duration by media
– It’s important to CONVERT- Ask and remind people till they step out to vote
The Digital Communication ‘Mantra’
Listen
Engage
Empower
It’s not…
• About having a website
Or
• About asking for votes-online!
• It’s about listening, engaging and empowering!
Listen, Engage & Empower
Be Present on Social Networks in India
Barack Obama was present on 17 social networks. He had about 2 million
fans in MySpace alone.
•Straight Talk with people
•Invite comments
•Start POLL
•Start discussion on
•Relevant topics
•Put your event photos
And videos
•Distribute your widget
•Link to the main site
Involve people, and let them participate in building a National Agenda.
Communicate to them. Let them feel that they are important and are being listened to.
Listen, Engage & Empower
Use Twitter to Listen & Broadcast
• Twitter- Profile on twitter to update thoughts and directions
– Helps in instantly creating chain of followers.
– Creates a chain reaction of thoughts across Dell on twitter: regularly
Updates people about
New models, asks opinions
Guides people to various sites
Product updates.
Obama on twitter- calling
Last minute for votes
Updating about venues of
Public address and rallies
Listen, Engage & Empower
Create Personal and Local Impact
• Allow people to create and expand their own
network
• Allow people to host their own events
• Allow people to share their stories
• Allow people to invite you for local events
• Allow people to register for your local events
Obama’s own social networking site
MY.BARACKOBAMA.COM- Over 35000 groups
were created and over 200000 events were hosted
This may need a closely monitored and closed
garden approach and hence a need for your
OWN SOCIAL NETWORK SITE
Listen, Engage & Empower
Use Web2.0 Applications for Interactivity
Webcast or Live Chat.
Weekly chat, and
Live or delayed web broadcast-by local
and national candidates
Event finder- Locate the next
public event in your region &
register for the same.
Integrate with Google Maps, to
receive route map and ID card
via email and SMS
Integrate YouTube, for real time broadcast
of your events, speeches and tours.
(Obama’s YouTube channel generated
110m views by election day)
Listen, Engage & Empower
Telecom and Widgets
India has over 300m people with Mobile Phones. Almost all of them can
Receive SMS updates. Most of them can receive Multimedia content.
And at least 10% of them can access some level of internet. Mobile strategy
should be an integral element of digital strategy
Listen, Engage & Empower
Telecom & Widgets
• Use mobile for ‘personalized’ calls from real local representatives.
• Use mobile to drive people for voting
• Use Mobile widgets for updates and polls
Listen, Engage & Empower
Use of Widgets
Widgets can be installed anywhere
Easily- your mobile phone,
Facebook profile Or your blog.
Obama widget here on Facebook,
automatically presents updated videos
and text and also registers people to
vote
Finds local group
And message from you.
Plays videos Access to all media on the net
With your reference
Observe, Track & Analyze
Use advanced CRM and Analytics
Your followers need to be answered back in
real time.
Communication needs to be dynamically
changed based on people’s quick changing
tastes, information needs and perception.
Use of web analytics reveals, key search
patterns, how people react to specific
communication and their behavior on our
site by day and region among others
Listen, Engage & Empower
Engage & Propagate through ‘Viral’
BUILD STRONGER INDIA VIRAL
GAME OR CONTEST.- choose any
state in the map, and with the use of
icons show how would you build that
state stronger.
This is a participative game and the
results can be announced and seen in
real time.
One Example
There are many that you know and have witnessed already!
Help Bihar, viral campaign
(Promoted by one of India’s largest
digital agency-QUASAR)
Required one to answer a few
Easy questions.
For each correct answer Re1 worth
Of products will be donated.
This viral spread to more than 10 lac
People in about a week’s time.
http://helpbihar.in/
Continue after Winning
• Personalized thanks mail to all registered users.
• Thank You Banner across web properties.
• Use web properties to build consensus and public opinion on key issues
• Use the web properties to update people on actions and pre-election promises
Path-Ahead
Anal CRM
ytics
Cross Integrated and Cross Powered Platforms
About me
Digital Marketer from Google, Bharti Airtel and Zdnetindia.com, Saurabh Pandey is a
technology and media enthusiast.
Through his more than 12 years of experience in a wide range of industries from
advertising through technology to media and telecom, synergised with leadership roles in
both marketing, brand management and sales, Saurabh attempts to look at challenges in
today’s marketing environment with a digital lens and tools of innovative thinking!
Saurabh blogs regularly at www.atomthought.com
Other Publications
• 10 digital trends to observe in 2009
• Blog Performance Metrics
• Social Media Marketing and RoI
• You can download all the above publications free of cost from
www.atomthought.com
Thank You