Justin McConney
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| Justin McConney | |||
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| Basic facts | |||
| Organization: | The Trump Organization | ||
| Role: | Director of new media | ||
| Location: | New York, N.Y. | ||
| Education: | School of Visual Arts | ||
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Justin McConney is the director of new media for the Trump Organization and is the person credited with "introducing Donald Trump to social media."[1] His major campaign development for the 2016 cycle was the 15-second Instagram ads that Trump became known for using during his presidential campaign.[2] He has worked with Trump since 2011.
Career
After graduating from New York's School of Visual Arts in 2008, Justin McConney began working with Donald Trump in 2011, when he produced a video that introduced Trump at a meeting for the Trump golf division.[3] In a 2015 interview, McConney told The Drum how he initially became involved with social media and Trump:[4]
| “ | I had looked into the company's social media and noticed they had no YouTube channel and that Mr. Trump’s Twitter and Facebook really was not being used like it should. With such a huge brand that involved entertainment, real estate and hotels there was a huge opportunity for social media. I suggested to the company that they could use someone to run a New Media department. I was lucky enough to pitch Mr. Trump and he loved the idea.[5] | ” |
In 2014, New York Magazine named Donald Trump one of the most influential "tweeters" in New York. The report was based on measurements of "interactions through responses and retweets" in the state of New York only.[6] Writing for The Huffington Post in 2016, Barbara Nonas—vice president at tech agency DigitasLBi—noted McConney's impact on Trump: "McConney increased Trump's Twitter followers from 300,000 to over six million and his YouTube presence from nothing to a dedicated channel with more than 20 million views. His Instagram account has close to one million followers."[7]
Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2016
- See also: Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2016
For Trump's presidential campaign, McConney was responsible for coordinating the campaign's new media. In February 2016, McConney told The Drum that he experiments with social media because of the low cost and the ability to quickly move on if it proves unsuccessful: "That’s the great thing about social media, you can just try things. It doesn’t cost a lot, you can put it out there, you see the reaction. If it doesn’t work, move onto the next thing. If it works, you’ve got something."[8]
Campaign use of Twitter
Re/Code noted that the signature of Trump's campaign has been his use of Twitter. The site suggested that Trump's tweets are linked to his status as an "outsider candidate": "Trump understands that the day he tweets pictures of corn fields in Iowa or starts laying out policy positions on the platform is the day he becomes like any other candidate — and loses his advantage as the political outsider."[9]
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In a 2015 piece for The New York Times, Trump commented that his use of Twitter was a way to respond to rivals. He said, "I have more power than they do. I can let people know that they were a fraud. I can let people know that they have no talent, that they didn’t know what they’re doing. You have a voice."[10] DCInno noted that Trump's Twitter account did much of the introductory work common to traditional campaigning early on in the presidential race: "He doesn't need to introduce himself to caucus goers, they know who he is, and if they didn't before, any news station will let them know without him needing to buy air time. And those news reports helpfully cover his Twitter feed, with his screen name and everything right there for them to find."[11]
Social media campaign ads
In addition to his role with Trump's messaging, McConney was responsible for Trump's digital campaign ads. In an October 2015 profile, Politico noted McConney's influence on the election: "If McConney makes a lasting contribution to American politics, it will likely be the 15-second videos — kept short to break through in a hyper-saturated media environment — he composes on Instagram." The site noted that the videos were an effective vehicle for Trump, who had refused to buy traditional advertising at that point.[2]
The Guardian commented that these 15-second ads were essentially free advertising for the campaign: "Costing nothing to produce, lo-fi, short and to the point, the spots are often picked up and run across mainstream TV networks. Essentially, Trump is gaining free TV advertising."[12]
The following are examples of these ads that McConney and Trump became known for:
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Top influencers by state
Influencers in American politics are power players who help get candidates elected, put through policy proposals, cause ideological changes, and affect popular perceptions. They can take on many forms: politicians, lobbyists, advisors, donors, corporations, industry groups, labor unions, single-issue organizations, nonprofits, to name a few.
In 2016, Ballotpedia identified Justin McConney as a top influencer by state. We identified top influencers across the country through several means, including the following:
- Local knowledge of our professional staff
- Surveys of activists, thought leaders and journalists from across the country and political spectrum
- Outreach to political journalists in each state who helped refine our lists
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Justin McConney'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Wired, "Meet the 20 Tech Insiders Defining the 2016 Campaign," January 21, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Politico, "Meet the man who makes Donald Trump go viral," October 1, 2015
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Justin McConney," accessed March 4, 2016
- ↑ The Drum, "Exclusive: An interview with Justin McConney, Trump’s director of social media," September 22, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ New York Magazine, "New York’s Most Influential Tweeters May Surprise You," February 28, 2014
- ↑ The Huffington Post, "The Secret Sauce Behind Donald Trump's Social Media Success," February 8, 2016
- ↑ The Drum, "'I am the agency!' - A fireside chat with Justin McConney, Donald Trump's director of social media," February 4, 2016
- ↑ Re/Code, "Meet Donald Trump’s Twitter Whisperer," January 27, 2016
- ↑ The New York Times, "Pithy, Mean and Powerful: How Donald Trump Mastered Twitter for 2016," October 5, 2015
- ↑ DCInno, "The Big One: Trump is the Only Candidate Who Gets Social Media," October 1, 2015
- ↑ The Guardian, "Can Donald Trump's social media genius take him all the way to the White House?" December 23, 2015
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