case study: Online Promotional Event

CHALLENGE: Strengthen the utility and brand of Crisp online magazine by producing an online event which is as functional and pro-social as it is promotional.

IMPLEMENTATION: We saw our opportunity in the most pervasive political event in America: the presidential election. Strong Bat recognized that 18-to-34 year-old voters have traditionally been trapped in a political "Catch 22" - politicians don't address our concerns because so few of us vote, and so few of us vote because politicians don't address our concerns. With only three weeks before the 1996 election, Strong Bat decided to finally break this cycle. We set out to produce the first-ever Online Presidential Youth Debate, an online event which would give young voters the opportunity to voice their own political concerns - and have them answered through Crisp by President Clinton and Republican challenger Bob Dole. Both Clinton and Dole agreed that our online event was worthy of their participation. Clinton's National Youth Coordinator explained to the press that his participation was based on "the need for young people to be active participants in national politics," and Dole's Deputy Press Secretary said likewise that "Bob Dole knows how critical the youth vote will be...and that's why he's honored to be taking part in the Crisp interactive debate." Within a week we secured sponsorship support from The Internet Access Company, promotional support from, Inc. online magazine and Tripod, and debate moderators, Farai Chideya, 27-year-old CNN Political Analyst and author of Don't Believe the Hype: Fighting Cultural Misinformation About African-Americans (Plume/Penguin), and Deroy Murdock, 32-year-old On-Air Contributor to MSNBC and cofounder/National Board member of Third Millennium, a New York-based educational and political advocacy group launched by concerned Americans born after 1960.

RESULTS: Young voters nationwide were ecstatic about the first-ever Online Presidential Youth Debate, and, in less than a week, we received over 2,000 debate questions from 18-34 year olds. With the help of extensive media coverage and event promotional partners, we also welcomed nearly 500,000 visitors to Crisp. As agreed, Clinton and Dole answered the top ten questions from our readers (narrowed down by our moderators), including two questions from the debate moderators, and Strong Bat posted the responses in time to help readers decide on their candidate during the final campaign week. Debate co-moderator Deroy Murdock said Crisp's online event presented the candidates with "...difficult questions - such as issues regarding same-sex marriages and the direction of the Supreme Court with three justices poised to step down over the next few years - and invoked difficult responses which had never been delivered in previous debates." Judging from the extensive press coverage of our online debate, the media too was impressed. MSNBC touted that Crisp's Online Presidential Youth Debate is finally "allowing young people...to ask the presidential candidates questions that they would want to ask," and CNN cited some of the debate's results, calling them "really interesting" and crediting Crisp along with its URL. "MTV isn't the only venue out to 'Rock the Vote' with younger Americans," said INC. online in its debate coverage, and KFWB NEWS 98 LOS ANGELES commended Strong Bat for "...using the Net to give young people access to the man who will be president."

We've since done it again in 2000 and 2004. Both Gore and Bush participated in our 2000 Online Presidential Youth Debate. (We sold the whole content package to Salon.com.)

And in 2004, with help from over 30 of the world's most pervasive media and marketing partners, our branded content reached over 22 million young Americans and 65 million people through our New Voters Project Presidential Youth Debate.