Title: The Media Center AOL
1 Get the Facts... React... Then Interact
The Media Center _at_ AOL Amortizing a Major News
Story The editorial and business opportunities
in Election 2004 coverage
CONFIDENTIAL
2- AOL News Election Guide 2004
- In the Past
- AOL has been at the forefront of election
programming on the Internet - Breaking news and real-time results were threaded
with message boards, chats, polls, voter services
and personalized candidate information - The Election Guide product was available to both
AOL members and Web users - Election Night coverage in 1998, 2000 and 2002
all broke usage records for the AOL service - In 2004, The Election Guide Morphs Again
- This years Guide is AOLs most comprehensive
elections effort to date with more news and
analysis wrapped with what services rich
community and technology - Content from some of the best partners in the
political news arena - No. 1 political site on the Internet (4-5 million
unique users monthly) - On its own, PresidentMatch.com, a partnership
with TIME magazine, was the No. 8 election site
on Internet in February with 545,000 unique users - ElectionGuide04.com provides something for all
tastes - Election Main (breaking news, features and
results) - Presidential Race (candidate profiles, primary
calendars, voter services) - The Sideshow (political humor, cartoons, The
Onion, exclusive video from Bill Maher, Comedy
Central) - Political Insider (for the junkies, in-depth
analysis, audio/video commentary from analysts)
3- Best of Breed Partners
- News Organizations
- ABC News
- Capitol Advantage
- CNN
- Comedy Centrals The Daily Show
- Congressional Quarterly
- League of Women Voters
- MelissaData
- National Journal
- New York Times
- The Onion
- OpenSecrets.org
- PollingReport.com
- Rock the Vote
- USA Today
- Contributors
- Michelle Cottle
- Mark Fiore (Cartoonist)
- Jonah Goldberg
- Bob Gorrell (Cartoonist)
- Arianna Huffington
- Bill Maher
- Mike McCurry
- Grover Norquist
- Scott Reed
- George Stephanopolous
- Jake Tapper
- Top Stand-Up Comedians
4http//www.electionguide04.com
Something for Everyone The Mainstream
- AOL Elections Main
- Top News
- Latest Headlines
- Community Promotion You Said It or Poll
- Partner Promotions
- Election Glossary
- Voter Services
- Primary Results
5http//electionguide04.com/political_insider.adp
Something for Everyone The Involved
- Political Insider
- Top Analysis
- The Political Spectrum
- Niche Partner content such as CQ headlines or ABC
News The Note Summary - State, District and Candidate Profiles
- Election Resources Polling Data, Fund-Raising
Overview and Search, Candidate Day Books - State Internet Resources
6http//electionguide04.com/sideshow.adp
Something for Everyone The Disengaged
- The SideShow
- President Match
- The Straw Poll
- The Onions Glossary
- Political Cartoon Gallery
- Animated Cartoons
- Video commentary from Bill Maher
- Exclusive video from The Daily Show during the
primaries and conventions - AOL member blogs
7http//www.capwiz.com/aol04/e4/rlist/?zip01776
Something for Everyone Personalization
- Your Elections
- Localized race and candidate information
- Voter Registration
- Candidate Issues Statements
- Voter information
8http//www.presidentmatch.com
Leveraging AOL Strengths Tools
- Your Elections
- President Match
- News Alerts
- Search
- Self Expressions
- Candidate Buddy Icons
- Party Buddy Icons
- Election-Themed Wallpapers
9http//www.electionguide04.com/virtual_primaries.a
dp
Leveraging AOL Strengths Community
- Your Elections
- Message Boards
- Chats
- Polls
- Interviews
- You Said It
- AOL Journals
- AOL Straw Poll
10Threading the Pieces Together
- The Daily Pulse
- Nightly packages launch at 6p.m. ET focusing on
topics buzzing in the AOL community. Politics and
Elections are the most frequently covered areas.
11- Political Advertising
- Prior Election Years
- Online ads are still an afterthought for most
campaign media planners - AOL has the ability to sell to local, state and
national segments with geo-coding that allows
campaigns to target demographics and affinity
audiences - In 2002 AOL sold to local state Senate and House
candidates, lobbyists, PACs and the national
political parties - Last-minute ad buys were common in 2002, with 13
million geo-targeted ads, bundled on the AOL and
Time Warner Web sites, sold in the final days of
the election
Geo-targeted ads placed on AOL in 2002 by the RNC.
12- Political Advertising
- In 2004
- Presidential candidates have experimented with
online advertising - Dean bought a streaming video ad that modified an
existing commercial - Kerry and Edwards both chose local runs in
primary states - The last 60 days of the campaign should be
telling for all online entities since new
campaign finance limitations on soft-money
spending will limit traditional advertising
options - AOL News has increased the sponsorship
opportunities within the product, allowing for a
more targeted buy for advertisers