There has been a major uproar in political media about the Bernie Sanders campaign accessing voter and contributor data belonging to the Hillary Clinton campaign. Ethics aside, how much of that data would be truly helpful to Bernie Sanders? Would his campaign get full value from it? It comes down to whether you believe all leads are created equal. Marketing experience says -- no. Some prospects are more likely to contribute (i.e. buy) than others, which makes them more valuable. And so they deserve more time and attention. That's as true in politics as in cars or cereals.

With the first session of the 114th Congress soon over, it's time to look ahead. Popular opinion in Washington has the second session of Congress pegged as a yearlong lame duck. The recently released House Calendar has only 111 days set for action; the Senate just a handful more. One of the longest August recesses in history, steals scores of days from the second half of the year, leaving just 42 to get down to business. And with seemingly half of the Senate running for president, it's hard to imagine any real legislating will get done.

To win the White House in 2016, a candidate must build a likable and credible personal brand, demonstrate policy vision and generate millions in donations. In constructing a digital advertising strategy to support these outcomes, political marketers would be wise to tap the playbook of leading brand marketers. This includes shifting advertising budget to platforms like Facebook, which connect brands to known audiences and are built on billions of consumer data points that can demonstrate what resonates with prospective voters.

The promise of digital advertising is the ability to reach the right person with the right message in the right environment. Good news for candidates with a digital presence, particularly in programmatic buying, this promise can be realized at an affordable price point while yielding quantifiable results.