How Ben Carson Used Goofy Videos to Rise in the Polls

Jeb Bush has slick campaign ads made by professionals. Donald Trump has tightly edited Instagram videos.

And Ben Carson? A series of low-budget, goofy videos in which his campaign manager and senior strategist joke and chat about recent news on his presidential campaign.

Though it’s an unorthodox way to reach out to voters, the Carson campaign says the videos are a key part of a social media strategy that stresses the retired neurosurgeon’s authenticity, arguing it’s helped him get the most Facebook likes and reach the top of GOP polls.

“Our social media program is the best of the candidates’,” Carson communications director Doug Watts told TIME when asked what he thinks contributed to Carson’s rise to the top. “Amongst the Republicans I think we do everything right with social media and we continue to do more and innovate and to try new things.” Carson has over 4.5 million Facebook followers.

One thing the campaign is certainly doing right is the regular campaign update videos posted on the Facebook page, starring campaign manager Barry Bennett and senior strategist Ed Brookover.

On Oct. 28, the team posted an “in-flight broadcast” on their way to the third Republican debate. “Have you been on the show before, Doug?” Bennett jokes to Watts, who was appearing in place of Brookover. Watts says it is. “Welcome to the show, come back any time, really,” Bennett says.

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In the next video, posted November 2, Brookover returns. “I was jealous last week, you did one with Doug,” he says. “Don’t worry, we didn’t break up,” Bennett replies.

Most of the campaign update videos proceed this way, with the top dogs of the Carson team ribbing each other and speaking casually about new poll numbers and fundraising updates. And they have been a massive success; the Nov. 2 video got more than 4,000 Facebook likes in less than 24 hours.

“I can’t overstate how successful [they’ve] been,” Watts says of the campaign update videos. He says people now know who Bennett and Brookover are when the team hits the road; the two stars have had to sign autographs, and a woman “started to paw” Brookover’s arm at an Iowa rally after recognizing him from the videos.

“These videos Barry and I do have taken a life of their own,” Brookover echoed. “One couple here in northern Virginia asked for me to take a picture taken with their child.”

Watts says now that their candidate is the frontrunner, the team is going to stick with the same strategy that got him there in the first place. But there’s a bit more pressure: “We have to maintain our profile and we have to begin showing ourselves as presidential.”

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