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Microtargeting Comes To Politics

Having the best data doesn't guarantee success, but add some fresh thinking and a dose of creativity to that data and you may be on to something. Just ask President Obama.
"The data-based techniques..., similar to those used to target supermarket shoppers and even to hunt for terrorists, are turning politics into the sophisticated calculations typically associated with Google (GOOG) and its ilk. In a fraction of a second, computers sort us into segments and then calculate the potential that each of us has to swing from red or purple to blue."
Think differently. Segment your market. Gather public data; supplement it with your own insights. Figure out who your customers and supporters are, and who they are not.

Of that latter group, determine who is persuadable and what message appeals to them. Locate them geographically, socioeconomically, emotionally. Learn how they live, behave, respond, spend, act and react. Try some things. Learn some lessons. Refine. Repeat.
"Suddenly, (the campaign) had a line on millions of swing voters. The challenge then was to locate groups of them in swing states. For this, the company analyzed the demographics and buying patterns of the Barn Raisers they surveyed personally. Then it instructed its computers to scour commercially available databases for others with matching profiles. By Spotlight's count, this approach nailed Barn Raisers three times out of four. So Democrats could bet that at least three-quarters of them would be likely to welcome an appeal stressing honesty and fair play."
The same techniques are within reach of health care marketers too, at increasingly affordable prices. My guess: providers will reach an adoption tipping point only when CEOs start demanding more ROI accountability from their marketing teams.


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