The Great Schlep

DESCRIPTION

During the American presidential election of 2008, several key battleground states served as windows to the bigger political picture. Florida was one such state, with senator McCain’s Republican party leading with 65% in the polls.
Florida, due to the balmy climate, is a popular retirement destination for the country’s senior citizens, a key voting demographic. Within this demographic, a significant proportion of residents are Jewish.
Droga5 identified that these elderly Jews as a key target, especially in the climate of smear campaigns in the republican press that denounced Democratic candidate Barak Obama as a Muslim with a pro-Arabic stance towards Israel. Ingrained racial attitudes also needed to be tackled.
Election season in the US dominates all the conventional media channels and platforms, as opposing candidates seek blanket coverage to get their messages across to the public. Instead of competing for space with more posters and TV commercials, Droga5 came up with “The Great Schlep”.

Instead of targeting the senior citizens of Florida, the campaign was aimed at their grandchildren in the rest of America. Based on the principal that the easiest way to introduce someone to a new idea is with face to face contact, the Schlep built on that concept to make it face to face contact with a loved one. As co-founder Ari Wallach pointed out, “the number one loved one of grandparents is their grandchildren.”
The online push armed grandchildren with a set of talking points, and encouraged them to make the trip to visit their relatives in the sunshine state. The talking points factsheet tackled the issues specifically relevant to the elderly Jewish community such as Obama’s faith, his stance in the middle east, and his plans for tax and healthcare. Those who were unable to make the trip, were encouraged to take a virtual schlep, and contact their grandparents by phone or email.
The campaign was picked up by TV stations and received celebrity endorsement from famous Jewish comedian Sarah Silverman, who appeared in a viral video to promote the campaign. With Silverman’s involvement, the campaign quickly became a talk show and front page fixture. Although the campaign focused on a single state, the significant extra coverage provided more valuable exposure for the Democrats at a national level.
The Great Schlep talking points sheet was downloaded over 200,000 times, and 21,000 people joined the Great Schlep Facebook page. The movement also feature in an estimated 2,300 news stories worldwide and was picked up by 40,000 online blogs.
Anecdotal evidence suggested a significant shift in attitudes within the elderly Jewish demographic, and on election night in November 2008, the Democrats would take Florida with 52%, and go on to win the presidential election. Obama would also win more Jewish votes nationally.
 

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