Vantage Internet Press Release

Voters Making Friends with Politics
Viral marketing is spreading fast in the presidential race while corporate America takes notes.

San Diego, CA- February, 2008- Social networks are the new source for political campaigns looking to capture the generations that have historically been the most absent in polling. USA Today reports that political campaigns will be pouring $73 million into the Internet, about 40 percent of that dedicated to the presidential race alone. Jumping to catch on to the next big thing, candidates are investing a growing number of hours into viral marketing management such as MySpace and Facebook. The trials and tribulations the candidates are encountering in this new media serve as the perfect testing ground for corporate America's entry.

Social networking has become prevalent in consumers everyday lives. The Interactive Advertising Bureau reports two hundred million people are participating in some kind of social network. 86 percent of the American users on MySpace, the largest social-networking site, are voting age. Jennifer Villalobos, Marketing Director for Vantage Internet, points out that these forums are an obvious resource for supporters. "What is different about the 2008 election is that campaigns are not just utilizing the networks as traditional ad space, but actually branding their message to fit within the context of viral media."

With presidential primary debates having been hosted by YouTube and MySpace, online media is producing enough feeds to overwhelm Americans. A lack of experience in navigating the virtual realm can be painfully apparent and prove to be detrimental to a campaign. The delicate nature in cultivating a successful campaign for viral market has been a hurdle for corporations to clear in a media that promotes an image rather than a blatant product or message.

The Obama team has had the most success in engaging with potential supporters on a more personal level through these social portals. In social networks and blogging, it is not just about broadcasting, it is about relating. Obama's campaign staffer proved social networking proficiency by beating out all other presidential hopefuls in raising the most in MySpace currency: friends. To date, Obama boasts over 260,000 friends on MySpace, many of which have utilized their own profile to promote Obama's message via blogs, ad placement, even adopting Obama's campaign poster as their own profile image.

Feeding off the presidential moment, a California based software company BigFix created their own presidential candidate, Ray Hopewood former Silicon Valley software mogul. This fictional character has a Web site, a Flikr, Facebook and MySpace page, where he is friends with Barack Obama. The branding of Ray Hopewood personified the company's stance as one of the few honest software companies in the market. David Applebaum, Vice President of Marketing at BigFix reported on SFGate.com that Ray Hopewood had generated 47 percent of BigFix corporate Web sites traffic within five months of initial launch last year. Applebaum was particularly pleased with the results considering the viral campaign cost a faction of a more traditional print campaign.

The "friends" that social networking generate are proving to be a powerful sales force. Political profiles on viral networks are putting a face, name, even a favorite song, and movie to each and every visitor. To capture this new market politicians and corporations alike are forced to think outside traditional marketing techniques and interact with a younger audience in their environment and comfort zone. Viral markets have their own language and rules, to ensure successful entry businesses are hiring online management companies who are familiar with these forums. As the presidential candidates can attest, knowing the tricks of the trade is essential to winning an online popularity contest.

For more information about marketing campaign development visit www.vantageinternet.com.

About Vantage Internet Services Inc.
Vantage Internet is an interactive agency that specializes in fusing traditional businesses with marketing plans and technology. Vantage offers custom web design and programming solutions that compliment their winning online marketing, pr and branding campaigns. For more information, visit http://www.vantageinternet.com.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact Info:
Jennifer Villalobos
Marketing Manager
(800) 921-0687 ext. 718
jennifer@vantageinternet.com