data targeting
Images courtesy of Targeted Victory.
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Vote of Confidence Digital advertising agency Targeted Victory helps Republican candidates win elections via data-driven strategies By Christine Birkner | senior staff writer
cbirkner@ama.org
W
hen Barack Obama won his first U.S. presidential election in 2008, many political pundits credited his campaign team’s savvy use of data targeting and digital advertising with the victory. Michael Beach and Zac Moffatt—both of whom held positions on the Republican
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National Committee and worked on Republican campaigns—wanted to help their party’s candidates leverage the same data-targeting strategies that worked for Obama. In 2009, they launched Targeted Victory, an Alexandria, Va.-based digital agency that uses data management platforms to deliver targeted campaign ads to help sway voters.
“There weren’t a lot of firms that were specifically handling digital advertising on the Republican side, and Michael and Zac felt the need to create an organization to fill that void,” says Abe Adams, senior director of client strategy and fundraising at Targeted Victory. Targeted Victory uses many of the same digital ad targeting strategies as large brands: Through its data management platform, it serves up display, video, search and social media ads to specific demographic groups. The company initially marketed itself by explaining to Republican campaign leaders how its targeting strategies would help deliver ads to more potential voters, and leveraged word of mouth about its early successes, including its
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Images courtesy of Targeted Victory.
data targeting
part in U.S. Senator Marco Rubio’s 2010 campaign victory. More politicians then signed on with Targeted Victory for the 2012 election cycle, including presidential candidate Mitt Romney. “It was about being ahead of the curve in terms how to advertise and target voters online,” Adams says. “We realized that there were huge amounts of data available and there was limited use for it in the traditional methods of advertising, so we built out the plumbing that allowed our candidates to leverage that to their advantage. We grew because we communicated that to our clients and, ultimately, because we had successes.” For each campaign, Targeted Victory compiles data on potential voters whom each candidate would like to target, using publicly available voter files, which include demographic and voter history from previous elections, as well as polling data compiled by the campaign that determines whether voters are for, against or agnostic about the candidate. Targeted Victory determines voter segments based on similar attributes, and works with Columbia, Md.-based data management firm Lotame to feed ads to relevant groups, matching the data collected to available ad inventory through data management platforms. In 2014, Targeted Victory used this strategy to create an online ad campaign for Joni Ernst’s successful run for the U.S. Senate in Iowa. During 2013 and into the 2014 primary, Targeted Victory and the Ernst campaign worked together to identify key demographic groups that were more likely to vote for her—independent voters, veteran and military households, and women over 55—and targeted the campaign ads based on the groups’ past voting behaviors. “People who voted in 2012 but hadn’t voted in 2010 were a nice target for us,” Adams says. “They typically didn’t turn out in a non-presidential year, so we wanted to get them to vote. We worked with the campaign to break down siloes of data so that
when we had a mail piece or a phone program, or TV ads, we were talking amongst each other and using the same segments to target the audiences that we thought were key to victory.” One of the efforts, for example, targeted military households with online video ads featuring testimonials from veterans who had worked with Ernst while she was serving in Iraq with the National Guard. Another effort targeted women age 55 and older who saw ads that featured Ernst interacting with seniors on the campaign trail. Targeted Victory also leveraged the attention that Ernst received during the primaries for an ad touting her experience growing up in Iowa. In the ad, Ernst said: “I grew up castrating hogs on an Iowa farm, so when I get to Washington, I’ll know how to cut pork. … Washington’s full of big spenders. Let’s make ’em squeal.” “She was trying to develop her brand and increase her name ID across the state, and the ‘squeal ad’ accomplished that because it was edgy and creative,” Adams says. “It was about her Iowa values, connecting with voters, and people understanding she was one of their own. It allowed her to increase her brand awareness across the state without doing a lot of advertising.”
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As the campaign went on, Targeted Victory fed more digital ads to the 400,000 viewers who had watched the “squeal ad” on the campaign’s website and YouTube, and created “squeal”-themed memorabilia including rally towels (pictured above), T-shirts and a Joni Ernst Pork Rub to add to the effort. “Because of the earned media it was getting, it had a multiplier effect,” Adams says. “The entire squeal campaign led voters to connect with Joni.” Overall, Targeted Victory’s ad targeting efforts allowed the campaign to reach voters who weren’t typically turning out for midterm elections, which helped push Ernst to victory, Adams says. “Traditionally, Democrats in Iowa have a significant lead in absentee and early voting going into Election Day, but based on the comprehensive marketing approach that we took across the campaign— offline media and online targeting— we were able to cut the absentee and early vote difference down to the smallest it’s been in the last few election cycles,” he says. “Ultimately, it was about persuading voters to turn out, whether through absentee ballots, early voting or on Election Day. By using the technology and tools we had at our disposal, we put the campaign in the best position for victory.” m
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