Obama's new media director: Online efforts during midterms lackluster

A lack of original ideas has characterized the online efforts of many midterm campaigns, Joe Rospars writes in an essay released this week.

Rospars, director of new media for President Obama's campaign, is a founding partner at the online strategy firm Blue State Digital.

In his view, midterm campaigns have tried to reach out to voters over the Internet but have sometimes floundered to adapt national tactics used in the presidential elections for small, local campaigns.

Some candidates have "cobbled together derivative, copycat campaigns — borrowing tactics from successful digital initiatives," he said. But the efforts lack "true passion...the crucial ingredient to drive real results."

Examples of lackluster online campaigns include those with Facebook and Twitter accounts that just blast off messages that feel like press releases.

"So, how should marketers look at the digital efforts of the 2010 election to this point?" Rospars asks. "It should be a wake-up call that there are no shortcuts."