At the Vocus conference in Washington this week, keynote speaker David Plouffe, manager for Barack Obama's presidential campaign, emphasized the importance of personal relationships to the success of communications.

He noted that it's impossible – and unwise – to avoid digital avenues, something the Obama team excelled at, to be sure. In fact, he said part of the team's success was its attempt to be everywhere: online, offline, an hour of local media at every campaign stop, and even sports radio ...