Political Lowe down: Campaigns are spending more time and money at on-line advertising



MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- Personalized political communication -- campaigns are spending more time and money focused at on-line advertising, and they're reaching specific voters using personal data. It's called micro-targeting.

Every time you log on to a web site, or buy something online, you drop a cookie, or a digital marker -- but cookies leave crumbs.

And campaigns, just like companies, are collecting them -- matching that date with other information like voter registration records, cred card histories, even what kid of car you drive.

"We're getting to the heart of what drives voters.  Because in the end it's not just about getting their vote, it's about responding to their needs, what they really care about, and the more information we have the better we can make the connection," says Governor Scott Walker.

It's called micro targeting, a political strategy pioneered by the Obama campaign in the 2012 election.

"What president Obama did in his re-election campaign two years ago was really at the cutting edge of social media and information technology, where he would pinpoint individuals who he thought would support him and, let's say, need to get registered, or were registered, but unlikely to vote unless he helped them vote.  It was real sort of retail politics at a national level," says Moredcai Lee.

The Wisconsin Democratic party hired the technology director for the Obama campaign in Wisconsin to run the party's digital outreach operation for the upcoming governor's race.

"He's been running our operation, doing randomized field experiments, doing testing making sure we have the best tools available to talk to the right voters," says Mike Tate.

Party Chairman Mike Tate says he believes the Democrats will maintain the digital edge they built-in the president's re-election.

"Repeatedly the democrats data machine has been put to the test and repeatedly we've seen it outperform republicans," says Tate.

But Walker says a national election is not a good template for the governor's race -- he says his victory in the recall was partly because of digital.

"We think we're more advanced with our campaign from a digital standpoint than President Obama was in the state of Wisconsin," says Walker.

Ads can be narrowed down to certain zip codes, aiming specific messages to potential supporters based on where they live and what they earn.

"What's going on behind-the-scenes in Wisconsin both for Republicans and for Democrats is they're trying to ape that same kind of approach, they're trying to reach those last few people who they can turn," says Lee.

The primary election is set for August 12th, less than a month away.