Biggest Online Fundraising Night In History
October 29th should be the biggest online fundraising night in history … at least in political history.As reported here, Barack Obama has bought thirty-minute program blocks at 8pm that night on CBS and NBC, and is in negotiations with ABC and Fox to make it a true “roadblock.”With the election only a week from then, fundraising won’t be his highest priority for the program, and his “true-believers” won’t be his primary audience. But I can’t imagine there won’t be some kind of call-to-action featuring his web address. And once visitors arrive there, you can bet they will be solicited … and the funds will flow.And online donation capture is what will make the volume possible. In the “old days” of 1-800# capture of pledges and credit card gifts, there was a physical limitation on how many calls could be captured in a short interval, in response to an over-the-air TV appeal. There just weren’t enough phone lines going into enough call centers.But that logjam exists no longer with online capture.So I’m predicting the biggest-ever fundraising take for Obama on October 29. And since Obama is the reigning online political fundraising champ, if the 29th becomes his personal best, that will qualify for world gold belt.Any doubters?Tom
One response to “Biggest Online Fundraising Night In History”
Behavioral Science Q & A
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Tom, I couldn’t agree more. Not that buying up 1/2 hour blocks of major network time is a first; but take that in combo with the momentum Obama’s building, and the breadth of supporters, and we might just witness a phenomenon.
On the other hand, we might see that the folks at the core of Obama’s primary groundswell aren’t network tv watchers, so not too much happens. Whichever way things go, we’ll be learning more about his base. It’s a great model of how nonprofits should be watching their own bases.
Best,
Nancy