Case Study

Unite the Country

Helping Joe Biden Win the Primary

We ran the digital ad campaign that helped change the tide for Joe Biden in South Carolina.

Goal

Translate Biden’s perceived support among the African American community into votes and supplant the negative media narrative around his candidacy with one of “Joe-mentum” ahead of Super Tuesday.

Challenges

After Iowa and New Hampshire, Biden’s hold on the moderate wing of the party was very much in question. Other candidates had significant spending advantages in the state. We needed a cost-effective way for the VP’s message to break through.

Approach

Using testing and sentiment analysis data from ads we ran in Nevada, we executed an integrated campaign across search, social, online video, digital audio, and OTT/CTV that we knew would resonate with African American adults in South Carolina.

When Rep. Clyburn endorsed, we jumped on the opportunity, made a rapid pivot, and cut numerous video and audio ad variations for rapid distribution.

To keep growing our Facebook ads program without losing ROI, we segmented our audience and monitored which segments donated at the most efficient volumes. We then focused spending on segments with the highest ROI and capped spending on lower performing segments, capturing donations from each at maximum efficiency.

RESULTS

Biden won South Carolina with a commanding 30-point margin, more than four times the final tracking polls the weekend before Election Day. Importantly, Biden won 61% of African Americans and 48% of late deciders, validating our overall targeting and creative approach.