Jeb Bush Wants a Second of Your Time, Literally
Political ads have fleeting effects, which Bush looks to maximize via Snapchat.
Jeb Bush is expected to announce his presidential campaign later today. Despite his status as the presumed frontrunner for the GOP nomination, Bush still needs to establish himself in a crowded field of candidates. Hillary Clinton made her official announcement with a splashy rally on Manhattan’s Roosevelt Island this past Saturday. Jeb’s answer: a Snapchat story.
Yahoo reports that Bush’s first official event will have its own live story. As with sporting events or music festivals (or those live stories of cities that pop up every day now), supporters will be able to upload their own snaps and screaming videos of Bush at the rally.
The move is politically savvy. To begin his campaign, it is necessary for Bush to stir up good feelings with supporters, getting the loudest to be even louder — an idea he’s taking quite literally with his campaign logo. In addition, a run-of-the-mill political ad is redundant for someone whose father and brother have been President. Jeb’s use of Snapchat signals the kind of immediate support he needs to capture the public’s attention.
Bush will not be the first candidate to use Snapchat to communicate with his supporters. Rick Perry snapped backstage prior to his own announcement. Perry, however, used a personal account that supporters have to follow. Bush’s reach will go beyond his own followers. The Republicans are looking to capture a younger voter pool in 2016, and the effects of political ads are ephemeral, so Snapchat should prove effective to capture the short attention spans of America’s youth voters.
