# Blue State Digital

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Washington, D.C.-based Internet strategy and technology firm

Blue State Digital Type Subsidiary Industry Consulting Founders Jascha Franklin-Hodge Clay Johnson Joe Rospars Ben Self Thomas Gensemer Key people Joe Rospars, founding partner and Chief Executive Officer Parent WPP

**Blue State Digital** is an advertising company[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](/source/Howard_Dean_2004_presidential_campaign).[5][6] The company became notable after providing digital strategy and technology services for the [2008](/source/2008_United_States_presidential_election) and [2012](/source/2012_United_States_presidential_election) [Barack Obama](/source/Barack_Obama) presidential campaigns.

Blue State Digital has offices in [New York City](/source/New_York_City), [Washington, D.C.](/source/Washington%2C_D.C.), [Boston](/source/Boston), [San Francisco](/source/San_Francisco), [Chicago](/source/Chicago) and [London](/source/London), and in December 2010, Blue State Digital was acquired by [WPP plc](/source/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](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] In 2004, four former Dean staffers—[Jascha Franklin-Hodge](/source/Jascha_Franklin-Hodge) (CIO), [Clay Johnson](/source/Clay_Johnson_(technologist)), [Joe Rospars](/source/Joe_Rospars) (CEO), and [Ben Self](/source/Ben_Self)—founded Blue State Digital[8] to provide campaign technology ([voter database](/source/Voter_database), [fundraising technology](/source/Fundraising), and [campaign recruitment](/source/Political_campaign))[9] and strategic services. In July 2014, Jascha Franklin-Hodge (CTO) left to become the CIO for the [City of Boston](/source/Boston).[10]

In 2005, Thomas Gensemer from [America Coming Together](/source/America_Coming_Together) (a Democratic-allied advocacy organization) became the managing partner. Their earliest clients included [Ted Kennedy's](/source/Ted_Kennedy) Senate campaign,[11] [the Communications Workers of America](/source/Communications_Workers_of_America),[12] the Democratic National Committee (chaired by Howard Dean), [Harry Reid](/source/Harry_Reid),[13] and [AT&T](/source/AT%26T).[14]

In 2007, the company was recruited in the early phases of the [Barack Obama'2008 US Presidential campaign](/source/Barack_Obama_2008_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](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] Their portfolio of clients now included [American Red Cross](/source/American_Red_Cross),[11] [United Way](/source/United_Way_of_America), [Carnegie Hall](/source/Carnegie_Hall),[19] and [Vogue Magazine](/source/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](/source/WPP_Group).[22]

The European expansion of US [Voter information](/source/Voter_database) companies (such a [Nation builder](/source/NationBuilder), [Change.org](/source/Change.org), and Blue State Digital) depended on the [International Safe Harbor Privacy Principles](/source/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](/source/Labour_Party_(UK)), [French President Francois Hollande](/source/Fran%C3%A7ois_Hollande), and [Swedish Social Democratic Party](/source/Swedish_Social_Democratic_Party).[24] In October 2015, this agreement was declared invalid by the [European Court of Justice](/source/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](/source/United_Nations_High_Commissioner_for_Refugees)[27] as well as [Tommy's (charity)](/source/Tommy's_(charity)) which raises funds for the [St Thomas' Hospital](/source/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](/source/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](/source/Tom_Cochran_(technologist)) – White House director of new media technologies

- [Jascha Franklin-Hodge](/source/Jascha_Franklin-Hodge) – founding partner, former chief information officer for city of Boston

- [Leigh Heyman](/source/Leigh_Heyman) – former White House director of new media technologies

- [Clay Johnson](/source/Clay_Johnson_(technologist)) – founding partner

- [Macon Phillips](/source/Macon_Phillips) – first White House digital director

- [Ben Self](/source/Ben_Self) – founding partner, chairman [Kentucky Democratic Party](/source/Kentucky_Democratic_Party)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Smits, Malte, ed. (2022). [*Information for a Better World: Shaping the Global Future*](https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96957-8). Lecture Notes in Computer Science. Vol. 13192. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1007/978-3-030-96957-8](https://doi.org/10.1007%2F978-3-030-96957-8). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-3-030-96956-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-3-030-96956-1). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0302-9743](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0302-9743). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [247014018](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:247014018).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Inside The Correspondent's $2.5m crowdfunding drive to be the 'antidote to breaking news'"](https://www.thedrum.com/news/2018/11/14/inside-the-correspondent-s-25m-crowdfunding-drive-be-the-antidote-breaking-news). *The Drum*. Retrieved 2022-10-01.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Employees at Creative Agency Blue State Secure First Collective Bargaining Agreement"](https://cwa-union.org/news/releases/employees-creative-agency-blue-state-secure-first-collective-bargaining-agreement). *Communications Workers of America*. 20 September 2021. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20221001115408/https://cwa-union.org/news/releases/employees-creative-agency-blue-state-secure-first-collective-bargaining-agreement) from the original on 2022-10-01. Retrieved 2022-10-01.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Stewart, Emily (8 June 2016). ["Google and Facebook will dominate the $1 billion digital ad spend for election 2016"](https://www.thestreet.com/politics/google-and-facebook-will-dominate-the-1-billion-digital-ad-spend-for-election-2016-13592885). *TheStreet*. Retrieved 2022-10-01.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Meet Our Leadership | Blue State Digital"](https://web.archive.org/web/20140311180335/http://www.bluestatedigital.com/staff/). Archived from [the original](http://www.bluestatedigital.com/staff/) on 2014-03-11. Retrieved 2014-03-11.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-linkedin_6-0)** Jascha Franklin-Hodge. ["Jascha Franklin-Hodge"](http://www.linkedin.com/in/jascha). LinkedIn. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20101006022622/http://www.linkedin.com/in/jascha) from the original on 2010-10-06. Retrieved 2014-08-08.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:0_7-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:0_7-1) Rao, Leena (December 30, 2010). ["WPP Buys Obama's Campaign Agency Blue State Digital"](https://techcrunch.com/2010/12/30/wpp-buys-obamas-campaign-agency-blue-state-digital/). *TechCrunch*. Retrieved 2019-11-08.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["WPP Digital acquires Blue State Digital, LLC"](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20101230005201/en/WPP-Digital-acquires-Blue-State-Digital-LLC). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20180501093551/https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20101230005201/en/WPP-Digital-acquires-Blue-State-Digital-LLC) from the original on 2018-05-01. Retrieved 2018-04-30.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["The technology that powers the 2020 campaigns, explained"](https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/09/28/1008994/the-technology-that-powers-political-campaigns-in-2020-explained/). *MIT Technology Review*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20221001115409/https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/09/28/1008994/the-technology-that-powers-political-campaigns-in-2020-explained/) from the original on 2022-10-01. Retrieved 2022-10-01.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Wood, Colin (2017-12-19). ["Boston CIO Jascha Franklin-Hodge moves on"](https://statescoop.com/boston-cio-jascha-franklin-hodge-moves-on/). *StateScoop*. Retrieved 2024-03-19.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-TechPresident_11-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-TechPresident_11-1) ["Blue State Digital Takes Over the World"](http://techpresident.com/blog-entry/blue-state-digital-takes-over-world). TechPresident. 6 November 2020. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20120512205630/http://techpresident.com/blog-entry/blue-state-digital-takes-over-world) from the original on 12 May 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2012.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** ["WPP Adds Blue State Digital to Media Empire"](http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/142123/wpp-adds-blue-state-digital-to-media-empire.html). MediaDailyNews. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20160303222854/http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/142123/wpp-adds-blue-state-digital-to-media-empire.html) from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2012-05-09.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** ["Salesforce: trouble for Blue State Digital? Don't bank on it"](http://www.jarretthousenorth.com/2007/04/18/salesforce-trouble-for-blue-state-digital-dont-bank-on-it/). Jarret House North. 19 April 2007.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** ["Obama's Secret Weapon"](https://web.archive.org/web/20080628170230/http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_27/b4091000977488.htm). Bloomberg Business Week. Archived from [the original](http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_27/b4091000977488.htm) on 2008-06-28.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** Rolfe, Mark (17 May 2019). ["GetUp's brand of in-your-face activism is winning elections – and making enemies"](https://theconversation.com/getups-brand-of-in-your-face-activism-is-winning-elections-and-making-enemies-116672). *The Conversation*. Retrieved 2019-11-08.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** ["View Features | BSD Tools"](https://web.archive.org/web/20120527205020/http://tools.bluestatedigital.com/pages/view-features). Archived from [the original](http://tools.bluestatedigital.com/pages/view-features) on 2012-05-27. Retrieved 2012-05-14.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-17)** Talbot, David (8 January 2009). ["The Geeks Behind Obama's Web Strategy"](http://archive.boston.com/bostonglobe/magazine/articles/2009/01/11/the_geeks_behind_obamas_web_strategy/). Boston.com.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-18)** Learmonth, Michael. ["How Obama Won The Internet: Blue State Digital"](https://www.businessinsider.com/2008/6/how-obama-won-the-internet-blue-state-digital). *Business Insider*. Retrieved 2022-10-01.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-19)** ["Web fundraiser that aided Obama acquired"](http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20101230/FREE/101239994). Crain's New York. 30 December 2010.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-20)** Adams, Russell (23 November 2009). ["Wall Street Journal: Vogue Sees Web Lessons in Obama's Campaign"](https://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2009/11/23/vogue-sees-web-lessons-in-obamas-campaign/). Wall Street Journal.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-21)** Thiel, Simon (30 December 2010). ["WPP Buys Obama Campaign Agency Blue State Digital"](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2010-12-30/wpp-agrees-to-purchase-barack-obama-s-campaign-agency-blue-state-digital). *Bloomberg*. Retrieved 2024-03-19.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-22)** ["WPP Digital Acquires Blue State Digital, LLC"](https://web.archive.org/web/20121228101959/http://www.bluestatedigital.com/blog/entry/wpp-digital-acquires-blue-state-digital-llc). Archived from [the original](http://www.bluestatedigital.com/blog/entry/wpp-digital-acquires-blue-state-digital-llc/) on 2012-12-28. Retrieved 2017-11-25.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-23)** Bennett, Colin J. (2016-12-10). ["Voter databases, micro-targeting, and data protection law: can political parties campaign in Europe as they do in North America?"](https://academic.oup.com/idpl/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/idpl/ipw021). *International Data Privacy Law*. **6** (4): 261–275. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1093/idpl/ipw021](https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fidpl%2Fipw021). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [2044-3994](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/2044-3994). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20220901051715/https://academic.oup.com/idpl/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/idpl/ipw021) from the original on 2022-09-01. Retrieved 2022-10-01.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-24)** Scola, Nancy (20 January 2016). ["U.S. political tech firms hit European turbulence"](https://www.politico.com/story/2016/01/campaign-tech-firms-europe-obama-218039). *Politico*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20221006113758/https://www.politico.com/story/2016/01/campaign-tech-firms-europe-obama-218039) from the original on 6 October 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-25)** ["What does the end of Safe Harbour mean for you?"](https://www.wired.co.uk/article/what-does-the-end-of-safe-harbour-mean). *Wired UK*. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [1357-0978](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1357-0978). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20221001120916/https://www.wired.co.uk/article/what-does-the-end-of-safe-harbour-mean) from the original on 2022-10-01. Retrieved 2022-09-30.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-26)** ["U.S. political tech firms hit European turbulence"](https://www.politico.com/story/2016/01/campaign-tech-firms-europe-obama-218039). *POLITICO*. 20 January 2016. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20221001115407/https://www.politico.com/story/2016/01/campaign-tech-firms-europe-obama-218039) from the original on 2022-10-01. Retrieved 2022-10-01.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-27)** Watson, Imogen (September 16, 2019). ["The UN Refugee Agency appoints Blue State to catalyse digital fundraising efforts"](https://www.thedrum.com/news/2019/09/16/the-un-refugee-agency-appoints-blue-state-catalyse-digital-fundraising-efforts). *The Drum*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20190920174706/https://www.thedrum.com/news/2019/09/16/the-un-refugee-agency-appoints-blue-state-catalyse-digital-fundraising-efforts) from the original on 2019-09-20. Retrieved 2019-11-08.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-28)** Johnson, Mark (2019-06-17). ["Tommy's appoints Blue State Digital for fundraising campaign"](https://www.prolificlondon.co.uk/campaign-news/2019/06/tommys-appoints-blue-state-digital-fundraising-campaign). *Prolific London*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20191108233150/https://www.prolificlondon.co.uk/campaign-news/2019/06/tommys-appoints-blue-state-digital-fundraising-campaign) from the original on 2019-11-08. Retrieved 2019-11-08.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-29)** Dorbian, Iris (2019-06-24). ["EveryAction buys Blue State Digital's BSD tools unit"](https://www.pehub.com/everyaction-buys-blue-state-digitals-bsd-tools-unit/). *PE Hub*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20221001123915/https://www.pehub.com/everyaction-buys-blue-state-digitals-bsd-tools-unit/) from the original on 2022-10-01. Retrieved 2022-09-29.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-30)** ["In What Would Be A First For The Ad Industry, WPP-Owned Blue State Said It Was Forming A Union"](https://portside.org/2020-09-22/what-would-be-first-ad-industry-wpp-owned-blue-state-said-it-was-forming-union). *Portside*. 22 September 2020. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20201030011509/https://portside.org/2020-09-22/what-would-be-first-ad-industry-wpp-owned-blue-state-said-it-was-forming-union) from the original on 2020-10-30. Retrieved 2020-12-31.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-31)** Coffee, Patrick. ["WPP-owned ad firm Blue State is forming a union in a first for the industry"](https://www.businessinsider.com/wpp-agency-blue-state-unionizing-could-change-the-ad-industry-2020-9). *Business Insider*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20201005060639/https://www.businessinsider.com/wpp-agency-blue-state-unionizing-could-change-the-ad-industry-2020-9) from the original on 2020-10-05. Retrieved 2020-12-31.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-32)** Miller, Sean (October 21, 2020). ["Employees At Democratic Firm Blue State Unionized By CODE-CWA"](https://www.campaignsandelections.com/prestitial). *[Campaigns and Elections](/source/Campaigns_and_Elections)*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20180515060416/https://www.campaignsandelections.com/prestitial) from the original on 2018-05-15. Retrieved 2020-12-31.

## External links

- [Official website](http://www.bluestatedigital.com/)

- [BSD Tools](http://www.bsdtools.com) - Company technology website

- [Podcast interview with Thomas Gensemer, Managing Partner at Blue State Digital, 2008](http://www.phorecast.com/2008/10/06/phorecast-podcast-no-10-obama-the-choice-of-the-net-generation-interview-with-thomas-gensemer-blue-state-digital/)

v t e WPP Divisions and subsidiaries AKQA Bates CHI & Partners Blue State Digital Burson Cohn & Wolfe Design Bridge and Partners Dewey Square Group Essence Global Glover Park Group Grey Global Group GTB Hill+Knowlton Strategies Hogarth Worldwide Kantar Group Landor Associates MindShare Ogilvy PSB Quinn Gillespie & Associates Scholz & Friends Spafax Sudler & Hennessey TAXI UWG VML Wavemaker WPP-Scangroup Wunderman Thompson 24/7 Media Former/defunct divisions and subsidiaries FGS Global J. Walter Thompson VMLY&R Wunderman Superunion People Philip Lader Martin Sorrell Roberto Quarta Category

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Blue State Digital](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_State_Digital) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_State_Digital?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.