Consultants Corner

It's Not Just For

TV Any More

Was the fuss over micro-targeting in '04 really legit? Can it decide an election before the votes are already in? These questions and more led to an investigative foray into the expensive and complex world of targeting voters. The findings were so large that publishing them in one story would not do the concept justice. The Hotline's Aoife McCarthy and Katherine Lehr present a three-part series focusing on how micro-targeting has influenced and continues to influence media ad buys, direct mail initiatives and online advertising. Part one is here. Today: part two.

Direct mail has long been revered as a way to target voters using voter files and polling data, but one Dem mail firm has taken it a step further. The L.A. and Chicago based Strategy Group has gone beyond the standard voter file methodology and has started to implement consumer data to target mail -- a very media buyer-esque approach.

Waiting for the right opportunity, The Strategy Group found it with The Campaign For Tobacco Free Kids and their mutli-state advocacy campaign. According to Tobacco Free Kids' VP for Research Danny McGoldrick, the group traditionally relied on polling courtesy of The Mellman Group and others to identify targets for their direct mail campaigns -- a common practice. However, The Strategy Group took it one step further.

Using Claritas, a demographic data and target marketing information provider, The Strategy Group was able to differentiate supportive voters from active voters - those who are willing to take it a step further and call their lawmakers. The results revealed some interesting and surprising trends among issue supporters for Tobacco Free Kids and will play an integral role in future direct mail campaigns. (Keep in mind that for this purpose, an active voter is not a check writer, but rather someone who calls or writes a letter).

Claritas uses both household and geographic data to segment the population into one of 14 different social groups, starting with population density.

Then those segments are further sorted into groups based on affluence. The end result is a system with 66 separate and distinct groupings that fall within the original 14 groups. According to their web site, this "marries demographic and lifestyle data to help companies better target their customers." In this case, the customer is the voter.

The subgroups are very detailed snapshots of the population. For example, "Young Digerati" are classified as "the nation's tech-savy singles and couples living in fashionable neighborhoods on the urban fringe." They are affluent, highly educated and ethically mixed. Compare this to the "Shotguns and Pickups" subgroup (the name speaks for itself) and it is apparent that Claritas goes far beyond demographics and location alone.

The Strategy Group's Terry Walsh cautions that there are some limitations to using this information with a direct mail program. It is more difficult for smaller campaigns and less cost effective. This is limited to larger campaigns on a state or national level. There also needs to be a demonstrated need to differentiate between voters in this manner. An advocacy campaign, such as the Tobacco Free Kids, is the perfect opportunity. Using patch through and follow-up calls it was easier to pinpoint an active voter than it would be on an election campaign.

While the end goal may differ slightly in a straight election campaign, the technology is still something that can be utilized appropriately to focus in on very specific types of voters - or at the very least, offer a new way of looking at the electorate. While it is unlikely that this will replace the more commonly used voter files and polling data (it's very, very expensive), used in conjunction, it could unlock some interesting groups to target. Could "Bedrock America" be the next "it" voter?