2013 Push Back featured charities

We were overwhelmed by the number of nominations that we received for our Push Back program.

It has been fun learning about each group and seeing how many people are hard at work making a difference in our community.

It was difficult selecting just 9 groups for the 2013 year but, the Push Digital team has voted and the results are in:

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We will be working with the following organizations for Push Back 2013:

  • Carolina Hearts Aussie Rescue
  • Haiti Orphan Foundation
  • Healing Families
  • Heritage Community Services
  • Hidden Wounds
  • Katie’s Krops
  • Miracle Hill Ministries
  • Need By Need
  • Palmetto Place Children’s Shelter

We are excited to work with these causes, and will keep you posted as we begin working with each organization!

Taking Columbia by Storm: 20 under 40

The awards just keep on coming- Another congratulations is in order for CEO Wesley Donehue for being named by The State Newspaper’s 20 under 40 list! As the CEO of Push Digital and tech entrepreneur, Wesley demonstrates that with drive and motivation, a person can accomplish anything they set their mind to.

As a leading innovator in political consulting and technology, Wesley has seamlessly changed the way campaigns are run in the 21st century. He also pioneered Pub Politics, an internet show dedicated to friendly bipartisan conversations. Pub Politics has helped show Columbia that no matter what you believe, you can always sit down and have a friendly beer with your opponent.

Outside of politics Wes started a social media ministry at First Baptist Church of Columbia, helping messages of hope and faith reach countless people that would have otherwise been deprived of this inspiration.

Wesley certainly lives by his motto “decide what to be and go be it.” As a community activist, political innovator, and technology entrepreneur, we expect many more great things from Wes in future. Keep up the good work!

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Award Winning Innovation and Community Service

Congratulations on your Senate Resolution, Wesley! The Push Digital team is proud to have a CEO who is a leading innovator in both politics and giving back to the community.

From innovating campaigns by integrating technology, to starting a social media ministry for First Baptist Church of Columbia, Wesley has certainly achieved much for the community and his company. His entrepreneurial passion and giving spirit, is truly an inspiration for his peers.

There are many in Columbia who would be well served to learn from Wesley’s drive and determination, in serving the community where it is concerned. This honor, along with his being named to The State Newspaper’s prestigious 20 under 40 list have made 2013 quite a year so far for our founder and CEO. Keep the accomplishments coming, Wesley!

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Season 3 Episode 5: Farewell to Wes with Senator Katrina Shealy and SCDP First Vice Chairman Jaime Harrison

Season 3 Episode 5: Farewell to Wes with Senator Katrina Shealy and SCDP First Vice Chairman Jaime Harrison from Wesley Donehue on Vimeo.

Watch Season 3 Episode 5: The Farewell to Wes Episode.

Sadly, Wes is stepping aside as the permanent host of Pub Politics. Joel Sawyer will take his place and co-hosting weekly with Phil Bailey.

For this special good-bye episode we hosted, Senator Katrina Shealy and SCDP First Vice Chairman Jaime Harrison. Senator Shealy is the only woman in the SC Senate and recently defeated former Senator Jake Knotts. She represents District 23 – Lexington County. You can connect with her on facebook and follow her on twitter @katrinashealy.

Jaime Harrison is the First Vice Chairman of the SCDP and recently announced his candidacy to be the next SCDP chairman. You can connect with him on facebook and follow him on twitter @Harrison4SC.

We want to send a special thank you to fine folks at Tin Roof Columbia for hosting the show this week. Stop by sometime and share some love. They’re located in the Vista on Senate Street. You can also like them on facebook and follow them on twitter @tinroofcolumbia.

Google Launches Biggest Change to AdWords in 5 Years

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With connected mobile devices actually outnumbering people this year, it’s no surprise that mobile Internet use has exploded, and continues to grow and change rapidly. Mobile Internet use will continue to surge over the next five years, at a rate of 66 percent each year. As online advertisers, we know firsthand that making our ad campaigns mobile-friendly is a must.

It seems we aren’t the only ones who have realized the need to adapt to mobile devices. Yesterday, Google launched the biggest change to AdWords in five years – mobile is now baked in.

The biggest problem in the past was that Adwords catered to desktops, essentially forcing advertisers to create multiple campaigns if they wanted to target different cities and devices. With the recent update, mobile devices can be managed with ease in the same campaign that targets people searching from a computer. Google has also added the ability to simply and quickly set up geo-targeted ad campaigns with new bid adjustment features. Advertisers now have the capability to spend more ad dollars close to their locations, and increasingly less farther away.

This is huge for online advertisers. By 2017, there will be an estimated 5.2 billion people using mobile phones, in addition to about 1.7 billion connected machines, so the sooner advertising catches up, the better!

No Saturdays for You!

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Let’s be real: the Postal Service is a relic.

If you want a package shipped, you’re probably going to use UPS or FedEx. If you want to keep up with friends, you’re going to use texting, email or social media.

Every day, we each receive an average of 78 emails. Every minute of every day, 100,000 tweets are sent, 684,478 pieces of content are shared on Facebook, and 3,600 photos are shared on Instagram. Six billion text messages are sent every day, in the U.S. alone! Who sends “snail mail” any more?

About the only thing the Postal Service is even good for recently is distributing bills (yuck) and postcards from Aunt Mildred’s trip to the Grand Canyon.

With the proliferation of e-commerce, paper bills are going by the wayside. Put Aunt Mildred on Instagram, and the postcards will probably go away too.

It’s not hard to imagine a future with no Post Office. Yesterday it was announced that they’re cutting back by discontinuing mail delivery on Saturday.

The move will save about $2 billion a year, a drop in the bucket of our $16 trillion in debt, but it’s at least some recognition at the federal level of adapting its business model to a changing world.

Pub Politics Season 3 Episode 1: Representative Todd Rutherford and Todd Kincannon

We’re back! Watch Season 3 Episode 1 with Wes and Phil and guests Representative Todd Rutherford, the newly elected House Minority Leader, and Todd Kincannon,of twitter fame.
You can learn more about Representative Rutherford from his legislative bio and follow him on twitter @RepRutherford. Learn more about #TGDN and Todd by following him on twitter @toddkincannon.
And we’d like to give a special thank you to our friends at Jake’s on Devine for hosting us and donating 10% of bar sales to the show. Show them some love on facebook and follow them on twitter @jakesofcolumbia.

WIS Pub Politics: Phil and Wes talk Gun Control and Richland County

wistv.com – Columbia, South Carolina |

Don’t miss this week’s episode of Pub Politics on WIS. Be sure to catch all upcoming episodes on Tuesdays at 11pm.

Top SC political internet firm rebrands as Push Digital

Columbia, SC – January 24, 2013 – Wesley Donehue, founder and CEO of leading political tech firm Donehue Direct, announced today the rebranding of his firm to Push Digital.

The new Push Digital will continue its nationally recognized work in website and application development, mobile marketing, online advertising and targeting, fundraising, brand management, and social media. Push is also reemphasizing its commitment to data collection, management and analytics, something that Donehue has been working toward for several years.

“Four years ago when I was asked what the next big tech trend was, I said ‘data,’ and a lot of people rolled their eyes,” Donehue said. “Too many people think data is boring and it isn’t sexy, but we all saw firsthand the results of a data-driven campaign this year in the presidential race. Our goal, quite simply, is to be second to none when it comes to data, and that’s something that will mean big dividends to our clients in terms of their ability to target their message and raise cash.”

Push is one of the few political Internet firms that has run campaigns from top to bottom. Its team has been involved from the state legislative level all the way up to the presidential, as well as numerous marketing campaigns for state parties, issue groups and nonprofit organizations. The team has had broad experience running the political, finance, and communications operations.

Push Senior Vice President Joel Sawyer noted that too often, those branches of the campaigns are “siloed” from one another, and not integrated with regard to technology.

“Part of our new mission with Push is to give clients the tools they need to integrate tech into all aspects of a campaign, and more importantly, making sure all the data integrates,” Sawyer said. “We live in a world where the internet is completely pervasive in our lives, yet too many campaigns out there are run on a model from two decades ago.”

In addition to its political business, Push will continue its work with non-profits and issue advocacy groups. Push will maintain its office presence in both Columbia, South Carolina and San Francisco, California.

Follow us on twitter: @pushdigitalinc

WIS Pub Politics: Phil and Wes talk the State of the State

wistv.com – Columbia, South Carolina |

Check out this week’s episode of Pub Politics on WIS, and be sure to catch upcoming episodes every Tuesday night at 11pm.