• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, January 20, 2016

With the 2016 presidential and congressional contests in full swing, Time Inc. is rolling out a new political ad targeting service for campaign media buyers in collaboration with Audience Partners, which specializes in programmatic advertising targeting precise voter segments.

The new service, called “CampaignFocus,” provides contextual targeting across Time Inc.’s network of publications, with a total print and digital audience of 160 million.

The CampaignFocus service enables campaign planners to target Time Inc. audience segments by their content consumption, as well as their level of political engagemen. That includes likely voters, donors and activists, further targeting by factors such as demographic characteristics, issue preferences, geographic location.

The services spans audiences for Time Inc. properties, including Essence, Fortune, Golf, InStyle, Money, People, People en Español, Sports Illustrated and Time, matching ads to individuals via their content choices.

Time Inc. chief data officer JT Kostman stated that the partnership with Audience Partners ties “political messaging to compelling content in a way that ensures its resonance with donors and voters.”

Like other publishers and broadcasters large and small, Time Inc. is hoping to cash in on a bonanza of political ad spending in what promises to be one of the most bitterly fought elections in living memory. In addition to the White House, 34 Senate seats, 12 governorships, and all 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives are up for grabs.

In December. Wells Fargo forecast U.S. political ad spending would top $6 billion this year, up 16% from the last presidential election year in 2012, itself a record figure. Another forecast from Borrell Associates puts 2016 political ad spending as high as $8 billion.