Microtargeting

Microtargeting

Microtargeting is the use by political parties and election campaigns of direct marketing datamining techniques that involve predictive market segmentation (aka cluster analysis). It is used by United States Republican and Democratic political parties and candidates to track individual voters and identify potential supporters.

They then use various means of communication — direct mail, phone calls, home visits, television, radio, web advertising, email, text messaging, etc — to communicate with voters, crafting messages to build support for fundraising, campaign events, volunteering, and eventually to turn them out to the polls on election day. Microtargeting’s tactics rely on transmitting a tailored message to a subgroup of the electorate on the basis of unique information about that subgroup.

History

Democrats did not utilize microtargeting in 2004. Some news accounts credited Republican superiority in that area for victories in that election cycle.[3] Democrats later developed microtargeting capabilities for the 2006 election cycle.[2][1] “It’s no secret that the other side [Republicans] figured this out a little sooner”, said Josh Syrjamaki, director of the Minnesota chapter of America Votes in October 2006. “They’ve had four to six years’ jump on us on this stuff…but we feel like we can start to catch up.”[4]

Method

Microtargeting is a modification of a practice used by commercial direct marketers. It would not be possible on a large scale without the development of large and sophisticated databases that contain data about as many voters as possible. The database essentially tracks voter habits in the same ways that companies like Visa track consumer spending habits. The Republican National Committee’s database is called Voter Vault. The Democratic National Committee effort is called VoteBuilder.[5] Meanwhile, a parallel Democratic effort is being developed by Catalist, a $9 million initiative headed by Harold Ickes.[2]

The databases contain specific information about a particular voter (party affiliation, frequency of voting, contributions, volunteerism, etc.) with other activities and habits available from commercial marketing vendors such as Acxiom, Dun & Bradstreet, Experian Americas, and InfoUSA. Such personal information is a “product” sold to interested companies. This data is particularly illuminating when portrayed through a GIS (Geographic Information System), where trends based on location can be mapped alongside dozens or hundreds of other variables.

This geographic depiction also makes it ideal for volunteers to visit potential voters (armed with lists in hand, laid out in the shortest route – much like how FedEx and UPS pre-determine delivery routes).

These data are then mined to identify issues important to each voter and whether that voter is more likely to identify with one party or another. Political information is obviously important here, but consumer preferences can play a role as well. For example, Republicans prefer bourbon, while Democrats tend to drink gin.[4] Individual voters are then put into groups on the basis of sophisticated computer modeling. Such groups have names like “Downscale Union Independents”, “Tax and Terrorism Moderates” and “Older Suburban Newshounds.”[2][4]

Once a multitude of voting groups is established according to these criteria and their minute political differences, then the tailored messages can be sent via the appropriate means. While political parties and candidates once prepared a single television advertisement for general broadcast nationwide, it is now not at all uncommon to have several dozen variations on the one message, each with a unique and tailored message for that small demographic sliver of the voting public. This goes the same for radio advertisement, direct mail, email, as well as stump speeches and fundraising events.

See also

Narrowcasting

External links

Romney’s Data Cruncher – Washington Post (Online) – July 5, 2007.

Karl Rove’s Split Personality – Vanity Fair (Online) – December, 2006.

Va. Gubernatorial Hopefuls Use Data to Zero In on Voters – Washington Post (Online) – August 28, 2005.

Lawn sign

Lawn sign

Lawn signs are one of the most visible features of an election campaign in some countries. They are small signs placed on the lawns of a candidate’s supporters. Signs are also often placed on lamp posts and larger signs may stand next to busy intersections. Lawn signs are often also placed near polling places on election day, although in most jurisdictions, there are legal restrictions on campaigning within a certain distance from a voting facility.

Lawn signs are considered an important element of any local campaign. They are a cheap and effective method of making a candidate known in their district. As a rule of thumb it is said that each lawn sign in a district represents six votes. A campaign’s field staff are usually responsible for coordinating a campaign’s lawn signs.

In the United States, lawn signs are an effective means of campaign advertising, with each well-produced sign and wicket costing the campaign between US $3-5. In Canada, which has very different campaign finance laws that put strict limits on media advertising, winning the “sign war” is considered an essential part of a successful campaign and a significant portion of a camapign’s resources are dedicated to this end.

Lawn signs generally contain the name of the candidate, their party, and the office for which they are running. Extras like slogans or the date of the election are sometimes added; these tend to distract the viewer from the main message, however. Symbols of the party are also popular. Whether a sign should have the photo of the candidate is an important concern. An attractive photo can lead voters to identify with the candidate; on the other hand, signs with photos are usually more expensive to produce, and are far more likely to be vandalized, which can have a negative effect. Most signs also have a notice stating who paid for it, but it is usually in small text that is much less noticeable. This notice is often required by campaign finance laws.

To draw the attention of passersby, lawn signs feature bold, high contrast colors and large fonts. The colors are usually those of the candidate’s party. Choosing colors is important: white signs do not work well in winter, and green signs on lawns will be far less visible.

Generally, it is important not to pick the same colors as an opponent. However, there may be a value in creating confusion especially for a challenger.

Political football

Political football

A political football is a political topic or issue that is continually debated but left unresolved. The term is used often during a political election campaign to highlight issues that have not been completely addressed, such as the natural environment and abortion.

There are many reasons that an issue may be left unresolved. Examples are:

• The issue may be highly controversial with the populace rather evenly split on both sides. In this case, a government has no clear positive action to take.

• A government may want the opposite of what the majority of the people want. By not making a decision, the government creates time to attempt to convert the public opinion.

• Government may be split on a decision and neither side is willing to give in to the other.

• A minority group in government may be opposed to a decision and will use a method to delay a decision, such as a filibuster.

• Politicians may be attempting to draw the issue into public debate in order to gain their own popularity at the polls.

With the use of the word football, many other football terms are in common use. Once a topic or issue has presented itself, the opposition will take the issue and “run with it” and “try to score points”. There may be many parties in opposition to take up the topic, and sometimes run it into the ground, which at times can “backfire” and end up hurting the opposing faction. This can happen to the point of that party being seen as “fumbling” the issue. When a party or candidate ends up ignoring or putting off the issue, they are said to be “punting” it. In addition to the opponents of the politician or party using the subject as political fuel, the media may also “run with it”. Sometimes these matters become larger, like during an election, than anyone would have thought possible during the event itself.

The phrase in modern usage is most likely derived from American football and not Association football (“football” to most of the world). However, the Oxford English Dictionary has examples of use as early as the 1600s (long before the creation of American Football). All early examples from the OED originated in the United States. It is possible that the term originated from one definition of football and evolved later to be strongly tied to the modern definition of American football.

The term is now being used around the world, including places where most people don’t even know much about American football, or the relation to the term.