The Zoom where it happened
The Zoom where it happened
In a throwback to 2020, Zoom and similar platforms once again shine as key campaign organizing tools
FWIW, this week’s newsletter is sponsored by Civic Shout
Kamala Harris and her campaign continue to ride a wave of energy and enthusiasm online and off. Amid the chaotic news cycle and rapid-fire transition of the campaign, one key way their team and grassroots supporters have harnessed that energy has been by hosting nearly a dozen marquee virtual organizing and fundraising events, taking place on Zoom or similar platforms.
First was a “Win with Black Women” call, which happened just a few hours after Harris took over the Biden campaign apparatus. That call stunned the political world with over 40,000 participants and inspired a series of other constituency organizing calls that were either organized externally by supporters or by the campaign itself.
There was “White Women Answer The Call” - an event held last Thursday on Zoom that literally broke the platform by hitting over 164,000 participants. And this week, “White Dudes for Harris” (organized by a few FWIW readers 👀) held an event that reached 180,000 participants and raised over $4 million. The “White Dudes” included actors Jeff Bridges, Mark Hamill, Mark Ruffalo, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, in addition to a lineup of prominent male politicians.
Streaming grassroots fundraisers and virtual rallies have long been a staple of Democratic online organizing programs. Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign mastered the tactic in 2019, and with COVID-19 preventing in-person campaigning in 2020, smaller-scale virtual events became a primary way for Democrats to engage supporters face-to-face. The Wisconsin Democratic Party famously held a virtual Zoom-like fundraiser with supporters, featuring a reunion with the cast of The Princess Bride. That event was so successful (it raised over $4 million) that it has its own Wikipedia page.
In 2022, I interviewed Jordan Newman, a former product manager at Hovercast, which is a popular tool for Democrats hosting these kinds of streaming events. (The White Dudes for Harris call used Hovercast this week, by the way.) At the time, he told me that live online group fundraisers can be successful in part because they build a sense of community and an urgency to give. Many of the calls feature a real-time ticker with names of donors and a progress bar or thermometer showing the total amount raised. They’re also very cheap to host, compared to the high price tags and logistical hurdles required of in-person events.
All of this is to say that I think these virtual Zoom events are a perfect encapsulation of the moment Democrats are in. The level of grassroots engagement we’re seeing was never going to happen with President Biden at the top of the ticket. The fact that hundreds of thousands of people are RSVP’ing to sit on a kind of cringe Zoom call for a few hours speaks to the pent-up enthusiasm that Harris has unleashed. If they’re willing to attend a virtual event, they’re also going to be willing to share content, donate, and ultimately, talk to their friends and family about voting.
Here are some more reads on the Harris campaign’s big online organizing week:
The 19th: From dosas to comadres, enthusiasm for Harris spills out on mega Zoom calls
POLITICO: Harris campaign pulls in cash from ‘white dudes’ and women in online events
Bloomberg: Can Kamala Harris Zoom Her Way to the White House?
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Digital ad spending, by the numbers:
FWIW, political advertisers spent just over $27.8 million on Facebook and Instagram ads last week. These were the top ten spenders nationwide:
The Harris campaign was the top-spending political advertiser on Facebook and Instagram ads last week - and it wasn’t even close. They accounted for about 40% of all political ad spending in the U.S. on Facebook last week, lol. Harris’ ads were almost exclusively aimed at fundraising, flooding potential supporters with urgent asks to support her campaign.
Interestingly, the campaign is running direct-to-camera video ads featuring several potential VP candidates and high-profile surrogates, including Andy Beshear, Josh Shapiro, JB Pritzker, Gretchen Whitmer, and Mark Kelly.
During the same time period, the Trump campaign spent just over half a million dollars on Facebook ads, which were also for fundraising or promoting various campaign events in Georgia, Nevada, Minnesota, Virginia and Montana.
We have yet to see any major anti-Harris spending on Facebook or Instagram from any advertiser.
Meanwhile, political campaigns spent $26.3 million on Google and YouTube ads last week. Here were the top ten spenders nationwide:
A new Republican-backed effort is running YouTube ads in swing states boosting third-party candidate RFK Jr.’s progressive credentials in the hopes of helping Donald Trump. SAG PAC Inc. is running the below ad, focused on abortion rights, in MI, PA, GA, NV, and AZ. The New York Times published a piece on the new group earlier this week.
(We should note that RFK Jr. has supported a national abortion ban in the past and his running mate opposes IVF)
On Snapchat, political advertisers in the U.S. have spent $4.3 million on ads year to date. Here are the top spenders:
Your 2024 digital dispatch
FWIW, here’s how weekly digital ad spending (Facebook/Instagram, Google/YouTube) compares between the Trump and Harris (formerly Biden) campaigns year-to-date:
Yes, this chart is ridiculous.
As we noted above, the Harris campaign spent an enormous amount of money last week on digital advertising. By our estimates, they spent over $28.6 million on Facebook/Instagram & Google/YouTube ads last week, compared to just $1.4 million from the Trump campaign.
After tracking spending like this for five years now, we’re pretty certain that’s the most anyone has ever spent on political digital ads in a given week. (Mike Bloomberg campaign staffers, where you at?)
Harris’ ad blitz appears to be paying off. Just this morning, the campaign announced a record $310 million haul in the month of July. Here’s an update from Harris Deputy Campaign Manager Rob Flaherty.
“We saw over 200% ROAS in two months!”
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What’s happening on TikTok?
Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance has been getting skewered on TikTok by angry cat owners, Kamala Harris is still riding a wave of coconut-pilled excitement, and Trump continues to make content with Jake Paul. See unique data and analysis on the online battle for TikTok at our new newsletter, #FYP.
More from around the internet:
The DNC Convention announced that it will issue credentials to over 200 creators who will cover the events and create content. Here’s a hype reel they just released.
Right-wing political influencers and internet trolls have been ginning up fake outrage and mini scandals about the Olympics all week. First, they created a viral scandal from a moment in last weekend’s opening ceremony, and now, they’re trying to make a gender scandal out of one athlete’s performance.
Scam PACs are still scamming, according to a new report in The Bulwark.
The National Republican Campaign Committee announced its lineup of inspiring, youthful “Young Gun” candidates. That list apparently includes a 68-year-old white man from Nevada.
That’s it for FWIW this week. Apologies for typos and word salad, Lucy is on vacation this week!
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