Coming to the UK: Obama’s digital strategy

Blue State Digital, the company behind the successful web strategy that won Barack Obama the American presidency, recently opened a London office, recruiting Matthew McGregor to run the operation.

MacGregor, who was responsible for Ken Livingstone’s 2008 mayoral campaign amongst others will be at the Frontline Club to talk about Obama’s web strategy and what political parties in the UK can learn from it.

Blue State Digital’s Thomas Gensemer criticised attempts by UK political parties to engage with voters online when he spoke at London’s City University earlier this year, adding that it was "scary" how little they understood the significance of the internet.
"I struggle to see either party here doing a lot of long-term planning for what will be the primary point of contact with their voters,” he said.

Gensemer attracted considerable attention during his visit to London in February, with features on TimesOnline and in the Guardian’s G2 that posed the question Is this man the future of politics? Already hired by Searchlight to fight the BNP in the European elections Blue State Digital’s move to London backs up Gensemer’s conviction that the Obama strategy could work in the UK. According to Guido Fawkes, who will also be on the panel, McGregor has already been talking to the Labour party.

The Frontline Club’s dinner briefing will be a unique opportunity to get the inside track from McGregor as well as some of the most influential bloggers in the UK and Sky News’ political editor Adam Boulton who blogs here,