• Brandweek , Friday, September 12, 2008 8:19 AM

According to data-mining company Axciom, consumers who describe themselves as "very liberal" are disproportionately likely to buy branded automobile oil filters and cigarettes. "Very conservative" consumers pay more attention to home and garden products, like insecticide and septic tank cleaners. Mindset Media finds a correlation between Republicans and truck brands like GMC and Dodge. Also, while Republicans have derided Democrats as "Volvo drivers," that stereotype is no longer true: Dems now prefer Scion, Mini and Volkswagen.

Because presidential elections can come down to a handful of votes in a single state, every data cell seems filled with promise. For instance, since Democrats are 48% more likely to use coffee houses like Starbucks, coffee shops are a good place to sign up Obama voters, says Sarah Welch, co-founder and COO at Mindset Media.

This type of "microtargeting" research came into vogue in the 2000 and 2004 election cycles to enable candidates to tailor their messages for smaller and more specific audiences. But experts are less impressed with the usefulness of such data this year. Says Thomas Gensemer, a managing partner at Blue State Digital: "What really matters is, did you vote in the last four election cycles and how did you vote?"

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