Blue State Digital is an adtech[1][2][3] that specializes in online fundraising, and campaign consultancy.[4] The company was founded by 4 former staffers of the Howard Dean 2004 presidential campaign.[5][6] The company became notable after providing digital strategy and technology services for the 2008 and 2012 Barack Obama presidential campaigns.
 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Consulting |
| Founded | 2004 |
| Founders | Jascha Franklin-Hodge Clay Johnson Joe Rospars Ben Self Thomas Gensemer |
| Headquarters | New York, NY, United States Washington, D.C., United States |
Key people | Joe Rospars, founding partner and Chief Executive Officer |
| Parent | WPP |
| Website | www |
Blue State Digital has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Boston, San Francisco, Chicago and London, and in December 2010, Blue State Digital was acquired by WPP plc.[7]
History
Howard Dean's 2004 presidential campaign pioneered new applications of new media to engage voters and raise campaign funds.[citation needed] In 2004, four former Dean staffers—Jascha Franklin-Hodge (CIO), Clay Johnson, Joe Rospars (CEO), and Ben Self—founded Blue State Digital[8] to provide campaign technology (voter database, fundraising technology, and campaign recruitment)[9] and strategic services. In July 2014, Jascha Franklin-Hodge (CTO) left to become the CIO for the City of Boston.[10]
In 2005, Thomas Gensemer from America Coming Together (a Democratic-allied advocacy organization) became the managing partner. Their earliest clients included Ted Kennedy's Senate campaign,[11] the Communications Workers of America,[12] the Democratic National Committee (chaired by Howard Dean), Harry Reid,[13] and AT&T.[14]
In 2007, the company was recruited in the early phases of the Barack Obama'2008 US Presidential campaign[15][7] to provide technology services, and for Rospar to create and lead the internal new media strategy team. These technology services included web hosting, an online fundraising product called BSD tools,[16] and a custom social networking platform. Over the course of the campaign, more than $500 million was raised, millions of volunteers were mobilised, and an online database of 13 million supporters was created,[17] This was reported in the media as being, in large part, due to their platform, and services.[18]
After their work in the successful Obama Campaign, the company opened offices in New York, Los Angeles, and London.[citation needed] Their portfolio of clients now included American Red Cross,[11] United Way, Carnegie Hall,[19] and Vogue Magazine.[20] By 2010, the company had offices in London. Washington, and Boston,[21] and on December 30, 2010, they announced that they were to be wholly acquired by the multinational public relations company WPP Digital.[22]
The European expansion of US Voter information companies (such a Nation builder, Change.org, and Blue State Digital) depended on the International Safe Harbor Privacy Principles. This agreement allowed the companies to avoid the complexity of Europe’s patchwork of privacy protections,[23] and allow them to provide detailed voter information (from social media habits to voting records) to the U.K.'s Labour Party, French President Francois Hollande, and Swedish Social Democratic Party.[24] In October 2015, this agreement was declared invalid by the European Court of Justice in October 2015.[25] The result was "Uncertainty over whether the talks can succeed has U.S. political tech firms scrambling to find ways to keep doing business in Europe."[26]
By 2019, the company had expanded into nonprofit fundraising, with United Kingdom clients United Nations Refugee Agency[27] as well as Tommy's (charity) which raises funds for the St Thomas' Hospital in London .[28]
In 2019, Blue State Digital was rebranded as Blue State, and BSD Tools was sold to Every Action.[29] In September 2020, Brooklyn office started the process of forming a union with CODE-CWA in September 2020, at a time when less than 5% of WPP employees (its parent company) are unionized, with the majority of them in Europe.[30][31][32]
Notable alumni
- Tom Cochran - White House director of new media technologies
- Jascha Franklin-Hodge - founding partner, former chief information officer for city of Boston
- Leigh Heyman - former White House director of new media technologies
- Clay Johnson - founding partner
- Macon Phillips - first White House digital director
- Ben Self - founding partner, chairman Kentucky Democratic Party
References
External links
- Official website
- BSD Tools - Company technology website
- Podcast interview with Thomas Gensemer, Managing Partner at Blue State Digital, 2008