McGregor sees digital tools as the way to energise supporters and put them at the heart of the campaign. He talks about the importance of "online chats" and "Google hangouts" – Obama did these, hanging out with three or four swing voters – as ways to make contact and enthuse support, and to raise funds through small donations. "While traditional media is a vital part of our campaign plan, fewer people read newspapers and they have a lower level of trust in the media than they used to, so they are looking for other [ways to gather] information."
But it will be as part of a rich mix of old and new that together offers new possibilities. It is "complete bollocks", he says, to claim that social media will mean the end of traditional media. Rather, one will complement the other.
