RNC hires Chuck DeFeo as chief digital officer – James Hohmann – POLITICO.com

The Republican National Committee has hired Chuck DeFeo to be its chief digital officer, party leaders told POLITICO, the latest move in a sustained post-2012 push to catch up online with Democrats.

DeFeo comes to the committee from Edelman, where he is a senior vice president in charge of the Washington office’s digital issues management and public affairs group. He managed the digital effort for George W. Bush’s 2004 reelection campaign, where voter contact tools were pioneered during an era when the GOP had the advantage.

Implementing recommendations of the Growth and Opportunity Task Force, the RNC already named Andy Barkett as the RNC’s first chief technology officer.

Party officials say they want to start integrating a more digital, data and technology-focused approach into how every department operates.

At the RNC during the 2002 cycle, DeFeo made the first online advertising buy that used voter and consumer data to target online advertising. After Bush’s reelection, he was general manager for TownHall.com — the conservative online website — and eventually editor-in-chief of Townhall Magazine.

via RNC hires Chuck DeFeo as chief digital officer – James Hohmann – POLITICO.com.