BlueLithium has launched a new behaviorally targeted ad network, the first service built to help political candidates leverage the Web's geo-, demo-, and behavioral targeting abilities to advertise
their campaigns.
The San Jose-based digital marketing company rolled out its Voter Network today, and politicos can run standard display, rich media, and even video ads, crafting
messages with targets as specific as: Women, ages 18-34, living in Seattle, with a household income of $70K+, who are interested in foreign affairs.
Candidates can raise funds, recruit campaign
volunteers, and even drive voters to the polls on Election Day through ads on the Voter Network, as the service offers survey, info-capture, and a direct link to call center capabilities.
BlueLithium's Voter Network spans Web sites that reach a reported 119 million Internet users--or 65% of the U.S. online population--and the company provides real-time reporting of click rates and
other metrics. With robust analytics, the service also becomes a tool for message testing, as politicos can release a number of ads for limited distribution, and then launch a full-scale blitz of the
catch-phrase or slogan that garnered the most attention.
Analysts are pegging this election cycle as a milestone for online campaigning--with sites like The Huffington Post and YouTube hosting
streaming video debates and candidates shifting more of their dollars to the Web.
According to Federal Election Commission records as compiled by PoliticalMoneyLine.com, through July 30, Hillary
Clinton, Barack Obama, John Edwards, Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani and John McCain have already spent a combined total of more than $5 million on their Internet operations this year.
"The Internet
is no longer an afterthought in planning a winning campaign," says Karen Jagoda, founder and president of E-Voter Institute. "Candidates who advertise online ... will see their dollars better
leveraged than those candidates who simply spend more on what worked in the last election."
To assuage concerns over the nature of the content their ads are running against, BlueLithium discloses
a complete list of available publishers in the Voter Network, offering clients the ability to specify sites where their messages will appear.
But according to Dakota Sullivan, BlueLithium's CMO,
too much hand-picking detracts from the effectiveness of the service's targeting technology.
"Part of the benefit of behavioral targeting is finding potential voters on one site and following
them around to wherever they choose," said Sullivan. "It creates a new level of precision targeting and persuasion on the Web--something that's never been done before."