• by November 7, 2000

By Anya Khait

Did you vote today? Whom did you vote for? What influenced your vote most? In one of the more heated senatorial races in the country, Rick Lazio is hoping people paid attention to advertising. We won’t know until late tonight if his use of E*billboards as part of the "Get Out the Vote" arsenal in the final days of battle against Hillary Clinton was worth the investment, but the ad campaign itself is worthy of some attention.

Lazio's ads, which began running on October 25th and will continue through today, encourage people to vote and carry the message that Lazio is "Fighting and Delivering for New York." The ads are running on 478 E*billboards throughout the state in Dutchess, Franklin, Nassau, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Suffolk, Ulster and Westchester counties, creating 573,600 impressions daily and a total of 8,030,400 impressions over the course of the two week period.

Naturally, Tom Pugliese, CEO of Next Generation Network – parent company of E*billboards – is optimistic. "Political races are coming down to the wire. At this time, messages have to be clear and delivered with pinpoint accuracy to key audiences," Pugliese said. "The ability of E*billboards to meet those criteria made them a natural choice for the Democratic National Committee (DNC), the Rick Lazio Senate Campaign, and Rock the Vote."

Pugliese said, “Because screens can be purchased by site, by zip code, by political jurisdiction or on the basis of audience demographics, they maximize the effort and results."

"Unlike direct mail pieces which have a shelf life of the mailbox to the trashcan, messages on E*billboards catch people at times when they're able to focus - standing in line at the gas pump, convenience store or while riding an elevator," said Pugliese. "You know whom you're hitting and where, with a message that gets through with value."

Earlier this year, before the New York State Primary, the Republican Majority Issues Committee purchased advertising at fifty locations where E*billboards are located in its ultimately successful campaign to defeat Congressman Michael Forbes, a Republican turned Democrat in New York's 1st Congressional District.

E*billboards are also being used by campaigns promoting Democrats and voter turn-out efforts by "Rock the Vote." Messages are aimed at shoring up constituencies and getting out the vote in key markets across the country today.

Will Lazio’s hopes and Pugliese’s optimism pay off? Won’t be long before we know for sure.