Datamining, microtargeting, digging for votes — this concept of finding out the public’s “gut values” and tailoring messaging that appeals to them is, from the presidential candidates perspective, a great strategy. This gut-values concept is explored in the book Applebee’s America. However, it seems that the desire to reach the public ends with getting their votes. There seems to be no real plan beyond that to write policy that will appeal to these groups. Does it all really end at the polls for these candidates? Do they have any plans to use the data later to effect any real change in congress?
Microtargeting is extremely time consuming and yet, what campaign strategists are really after is that small group of voters who are on the fence — their minds aren’t made up. These are the voters who are most likely to be persuaded. But more than that, the datamining effort is a tool used best for predicting the probability of winning over certain groups of voters. Anyone and everyone is being microtargeted. If you sign up for the discount card at the supermarket, Borders, Starbucks and any other retail outlets, your data is being stored and it will eventually be sold to campaign strategists or any other think tank who can afford to buy it.
Supporters of Barack Obama prefer Bear Naked cereal. Hillary Clinton’s fans like GoLean. For John McCain’s supporters, Fiber One is favored.
Where do I fit in the datamining dish? Well, i’m not on the fence, and my past relationships with Chips Ahoy and Sun Chips will not translate into a vote for McCain. And Fiber One? Yuck.
Like it or not, datamining is a tool that is useful to every business or organization who really seeks to reach people. The first thing I do before interviewing a subject for a story is to find out as much about them as possible. This helps break down barriers between me and the subject. Knowing the basics, we can move on to the real issues and the reason for the interview. It also shows the subject that I value their time and I am genuinely interested in hearing what they have to say.
It’s much the same for campaign strategists. It gives them a finite approach to predicting and getting votes. A targeted approach for political success. Datamining also gives strategists an idea of who, among their supporters, has the most influence on other voters. Most of all, datamining offers the best guidance as to who to send an e-mail, a letter, a voicemail and so on. The success of a campaign is as good as the way it communicates with individual voters.
