Background

After suffering eight years of “No Child Left Behind,” the National Education Association realized the Obama/Biden ticket offered education in America the greatest potential for positive change. With such a large and loyal membership we knew if we could get educators across the country to rally behind the NEA endorsed candidates, they could push Obama and Biden across the finish line. For their 2008 efforts, the NEA utilized their own data modeling program to provide their political targeting.

They had targets that were specified down to the state senate level. What they needed was our help in delivering a concise message.

We knew we had to break through the clutter of a heated campaign season. We had to send a message that wouldn’t get lost in the multitude of interest-based canvassing. We needed someone people could trust. Someone the members of the NEA might not know, but with whom they could identify.

With campaign resources already running on reserve, we were forced to rely on robocalls. Luckily, Jill Biden, wife of Senator Joe Biden and a teacher of 27 years, was a perfect fit and was willing to record the call. We knew that a message delivered by a high profile surrogate who was also a seasoned educator would resonate with our target audience. Mrs. Biden recorded a message citing her educational experience and explaining why teachers and administrators could trust her husband and Barack Obama.

We touched almost 120,000 NEA families across the country with the Jill Biden message. And as we saw, the strong support from educators was indicative of the Obama and Biden popularity on Election Day.