By Patrick O'Connor
Ever since President Barack Obama successfully used data and
technology to target voters in 2012, candidates for lesser offices
running on shoestring budgets have wondered if they would have
access to the same tools.
Increasingly, the answer is "yes."
Both parties are developing platforms that will allow candidates
at every level of government to benefit from the same high-tech
practices that have revolutionized national political campaigns.
Taking the tools that powered the president's $1 billion
re-election effort and making them available to, say, House races,
has been until now an elusive goal.
On Tuesday, Targeted Victory, a Republican firm that specializes
in digital outreach, unveiled a tool that allows candidates with
smaller war chests to harness a scaled-down version of the
technology that well-funded candidates use to buy television
airtime.
This follows an announcement earlier in the week that Democratic
firms Clarity Campaign Labs and TargetSmart Communications are
working with DirecTV Group Inc. and Dish Network Corp., the
nation's two largest satellite-television providers, to give
Democratic candidates at every level of the ballot the ability to
tailor TV ads to specific households. The Democratic firms
developed the tool for Dish and DirecTV to sell to individual
campaigns.
These programs represent the latest twist in the world of
American political consulting. Operatives in both parties are using
Big Data to change the multibillion-dollar business of American
politics, threatening a generation of consultants and potentially
reshaping how campaigns spend their money.
The new tools help campaigns buy television ads a little more
wisely, allowing them to focus on reaching targeted slices of the
electorate at less expense, rather than simply blanketing airwaves
on popular channels with the hope of hitting the right people.
Most new TV-buying platforms are tailored to the campaigns with
the deepest pockets, such as statewide Senate or gubernatorial
contests. The new services announced by Targeted Victory and the
two satellite-TV providers are accessible to candidates with
smaller budgets.
"The question coming out of 2012, when it comes to 'Big Data,'
is one of scale," said Elizabeth Wilner, who oversees the Campaign
Media Analysis Group for Kantar Media, a group that has a
partnership with Targeted Victory and tracks advertising for
campaigns and outside groups on both sides of the aisle. "There is
huge potential in down-ballot races."
The Democratic National Committee and the Republican National
Committee are both making major investments in data research and
analytics to improve the ability of their candidates to find
voters, predict their behavior and figure out what moves them to
vote.
Democrats have an edge on the data and technology front thanks,
in part, to the fact that most of their candidates and outside
groups rely on the same suite of tools to connect with voters and
organize information about them. NGP VAN, the firm behind these
products, is constantly looking for ways to make their tools--and
the data they collect--more usable for candidates running on a
smaller budget.
Targeted Victory is already a major player in the world of
online advertising and fundraising, handling digital outreach for
2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney. By wading into TV
buying, the firm is giving candidates a chance to consolidate their
media budgets under one roof.
A Republican candidate willing to spend as little as $15,000 on
a television ad--a tiny amount in the current campaign
environment--can reserve that time with a few clicks of the
mouse.
"This is where the market is moving," said Zac Moffatt, who
founded Targeted Victory in 2009 with Michael Beach. "We think this
is the future of being more efficient."
Write to Patrick O'Connor at patrick.oconnor@wsj.com
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