What's to Come

Let's Talk Politics!

I dabble in politics holding a city council position in my city. I've gained an appreciation for the approach of political campaigns towards reaching their voters. We are able to obtain lists of voters by household, their ages, party affiliation and the past elections in which they voted. From these list we are able to determine how to best reach the most likely voters. Maybe even the most likely voters who will vote for me! You have to get your people to the polls. Primary ways to reach these voters are through direct mail, telephone (yes, this is still viable even with the do not call registry), and door-to-door canvassing. I might do a multiple mailings to those voters who have voted at least 80 percent of the time over the last three to five years because I know they are going to vote and I want them to vote for me. I might do a lesser number of mailings to those who have voted at least 60 percent of the time but less than 80%. These voters may vote and I want them to remember me if they do. Also, my mailing might encourage or remind them to vote. I might do one mailing to those under the 60% threshold just in case. I'll tend to canvass in a very similar way, giving most of the attention to those who will definitely go to the polls. Regardless of how noble my intentions are, knocking on every door in the district is extremely difficult and I like to focus my energy on locking down the definites and most likelys.

This is relayed above to talk about the condition of local campaigning, minus the electronic media. I know who I want to target and I have manual means in which to do so. I have a limited amount of money from which to work so I need to use it wisely. Metrics are simple in politics. If I get more votes than the other guy or gal, I win! Otherwise I lose. Close doesn't count.

Advancements in technologies such as digital TV, the Internet and mobile devices open up new possibilities to reach this targeted list of voters. In the last presidential election cycle we saw effective use as the Internet and email as a tool for fundraising, signing up volunteers, yard-sign placements and get-out-the-vote campaigns. Now we see candidates at every level using websites, blogging, email and instant messenger applications to communicate with their supporters and volunteers.

Digital TV requires a receiver of some sort that has a unique ID much like the IP address of a computer on a network. This allows us to interact with our cable company through our TV to order movies, check out bills, play games and numerous other applications. It's no longer a one way pipe. This allows for personalization in many forms, one possibly being advertising. The cable providers are moving this way and it is perfect for the IPTV installations hitting the national scene. Mobile is similar, but actually easier because most people don't share a mobile phone. There is a clearer one-to-one relationship in mobile, making the targeting or addressing of content much better. The problem with phones is that people are not used to using them this way. Advertising is not an acceptable norm for mobile,,,, yet.

Back to politics. My company, Finity Technologies is working with an national political media consultant to place ads over cable TV to only a specifically targeted audience. We're out to prove a point that this can be done and by doing it, we can make the messages more effective and economically viable for more campaigns. Keep your eyes open over the next couple of months for results of this test. We may try to flip this to mobile as well.

I'll leave you with a couple of thoughts.

• First, one of my main principles is "targeted ads when done well have a high content value for the consumer" or in politics - they directly translate to votes.


• Second, we should never have to see a political ad for someone or some issue for which we can't vote. This is a waste of money and a waste of my time. If I have to see ads, show me something that is relevant. This relevancy is most clear in the political campaign arena.

Added 3/4/06: Check out the article Zeroing In from the January 2nd edition of Government Technology for more information on Microtargeting.

Let me know your thoughts. I'll probably post again on this subject since I'm immersed in it.

-Andy

posted by Andy Huckaba @ 5:12 PM