Philippine Elections 2010 Goes Digital: A Look at the Success of Noynoy Aquino’s Digital Campaign
May 2010 12:00 AM


Because of the growing web savvy Filipino voting population, new media was dubbed as the game-changer in the playing field of the 2010 Philippine Elections. Aside from the automated voting experienced by the Filipinos for the first time, Elections 2010 is likewise the first ever Philippine polls heavily influenced by internet and social media.

As the impact of the internet on vote conversion leaped from 3% to 11%, and with social networking considered a key online activity for Filipinos going along the trends of internet technology, new media became a major part of campaigns for most politicians especially those aiming for national office positions. Digital presence was so important that many of these political hopefuls joined the “Obama digital strategy” bandwagon, hoping to replicate the same sweeping presidential win that President Barrack Obama achieved in the 2008 US elections. But despite taking notes from this buzz about new media strategy, many of these campaigns did not score the same success rate that Obama did. At the end of the new media race, only one stood victorious as the first digitally elected Philippine President—President Elect Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III.

Noynoy Aquino led the polls in the 2010 Philippine Presidential Elections by a huge margin against other candidates. A scion of a powerful and influential political family in the country, Noynoy is said to represent hope and good governance that the Filipinos are yearning for. He won 40% of the votes, owing to his charisma, clean track record, and his successful campaign that remarkably focused on digital media, a first in the history of Philippine elections.

The digital success of President Noynoy Aquino in the 2010 Elections defied most of the conventions and notions about running a national presidential campaign. Compared to other candidates, the Noynoy New Media Campaign did not need astronomical finances to establish a strong online presence. It did not require a number of paid bloggers or endorsers either to give him the new media push he needed to reach out to web savvy voters. The inner fabric of this revolutionary digital campaign revolves around Noynoy Aquino’s undeniable charismatic leadership and passionate communities of supporters. All he needed was a digital partner capable of transforming an effective online strategy into a messaging approach that would work for the Filipino culture.

VONCORE’s Pivotal Role in the 2010 Philippine Presidential Election

Equipped with system design and development solutions and elite online marketers and SEO teams, VONCORE came out on top from a host of competing companies and was chosen as the Special New Media arm of the Noynoy Aquino Presidential Campaign.

The Special New Media Services provided by Voncore for the campaign has been designed to give a system of growth to the digital movement by widening the reach of the campaign and converting voters into supporters through proper messaging and mobilization.

Similar to the U.S., the Philippine online landscape is a massively influential communications and broadcast medium that reaches millions. No matter what age or social standing, nearly everyone in the country owns SMS mobile devices and has internet social media accounts. 60% of the voting population in the country would be composed of youth and first-time voters who are highly immersed in internet technology. VONCORE tapped into this marketing strategy which helped create a record breaking millions of votes mostly through online social media channels.

But executing a strong online strategy alone would not suffice in delivering digital success to Noynoy Aquino’s presidential campaign. Voncore knew that the new media strategy is just a tool to tap into the real strength of the campaign.

"It was clear from the beginning that the strength of Noynoy Aquino's campaign would be based on a volunteer movement. Because of this, we did not take traditional marketing routes of being indirect but rather took a straightforward, frank and direct approach in actively seeking the potential supporter's help to grow the database to support Noynoy," said Rogelio Santos, Jr., CEO of Voncore. “As they say, ask and you shall receive,” he added.

Voncore used the power of new media channels such as SMS, email, and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to mobilize Noynoy’s multitude of supporters in the Philippines, as well as those living abroad. The messaging strategy was simple and direct in approach. In the email campaigns launched to grow the digital movement, volunteers were given concrete steps on how to help Noynoy reach out to more potential supporters.

This Digital Movement Marketing growth strategy also paved the way for overseas Filipino workers to express their support for Noynoy Aquino’s presidential campaign by constantly sending them updates on campaign developments and election-related news happening in the country. Through constant communication and call for support, it became easy to deliver Noynoy’s message of hope and good governance even to Filipinos living abroad.

Once active influence has been established, the next step is to engage and empower people through crystal clear messages and call-to-action regarding what they can do to express their support. News and updates about the movement are also sent out to sustain eagerness and passion of supporters to work towards the growth of the movement.

Digital Success of the Movement

Voncore’s movement marketing growth strategy for Noynoy Aquino’s Presidential Campaign resulted to an organized body of supporters and volunteers that can easily be mobilized to support campaign activities. Through the unique messaging strategy used for the campaign, social influencers online and on the ground were empowered to take an active role in the movement. These active supporters volunteered to write articles, blogs, organize events, create digital art and do other campaign activities that translated into votes and support on Election Day.

More than just growing the database to millions in a span of 6 months, Voncore’s Special New Media team for the Noynoy Aquino Presidential Campaign helped put together a successful and scalable digital movement fueled by volunteerism. By using viral internet and social media strategies to mobilize strong communities of followers, the strategy did not only provide the Noynoy Aquino Presidential Campaign with a powerful new media platform, but also the capability to empower the Filipino people to work for change. The sterling talent of Filipinos that encompass the field of digital technology built bridges for good governance to thrive and helped usher honesty and integrity back to Philippine politics by bringing People Power from the streets to the worldwide web.

VONCORE is a US based company with offices in the NY/NJ Tri-State Area and in capital city of Manila, Philippines. The company aims to provide growing businesses with outstanding work management technology and collaboration systems. VONCORE builds, markets, and grows business by providing outsourcing solutions such as web design and development, SEO and online marketing, and Call center and back office solutions.

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