Last week, Kamala Harris made history as the first woman of color to be nominated for president by a major political party.
But as the balloons clear from the joyful, demure, brat-summer, DNC in Chicago, it’d be a misstep to ignore the other potential historic outcome of Kamala running for president: what this will mean for the 15 million Asian American voters who for the first time ever, have one of their own at the top of the ticket.
In critical swing states and districts, Asian American voters will be the deciding force. This November, every vote will make a difference.
Historically, when it comes to paid media outreach to Asian American voters, one of the largest roadblocks is an inaccurate voter file. Between routinely struggling to accurately identify ethnic/racial nuances to under-identifying voters, solely relying on voter file data will leave a substantial number of voters out of your targeting.
What’s more, ongoing platform restrictions to targeting (thanks to all the bad actors and foreign interference) means identifying and reaching this voting bloc is more challenging than ever.
To address this challenge, my firm developed a three-pronged approach to navigate this data void when targeting Asian American voters online: By utilizing a multi-channel approach, we provide our clients with the most accurate and comprehensive strategy to reach even the most micro-targeted communities.
In-Language Targeting: We believe in only delivering in-language creative when the user is actively engaging in online content in-language. This avoids potential feelings of pandering or inaccuracies. We target in-language audiences either through contextual targeting (i.e. there is in-language content on the page) or if the user has explicitly opted into a language via their browser or platform settings (i.e. they are actively consuming the entire browser page or platform in-language).
Contextual Targeting: We can make a number of assumptions about users by analyzing the content that is being consumed. For example, if someone is watching a Korean soap or Copa America, we can draw conclusions about the viewer’s likely identity. Additionally, if someone is reading an article and there is a combination of English/in-language printed on the page, we can make assumptions about the users’ bilingual abilities.
Third-Party Commercial & Behavioral Targeting: Beyond the often-unreliable voter file, third-party targeting can include data from commercial files, such as ATMs (“What language would you like to proceed in?”), mobile keyboard languages, purchasing behaviors (ie. did you pay-per-view the Pakistan Super League?), and media consumption patterns.
Demographic-Specific Platform Targeting: We identify platforms (apps, websites, services, etc.) that are primarily used by certain communities, allowing our audiences to self-select.
Only two presidential cycles ago, most major committees weren’t even considering Asian American voters, and even fewer invested in them. But with Harris at the top of the ticket, the landscape has shifted. Now more than ever, engaging Asian American voters is not just an option — only to be pursued in the rare event of campaign budget excess — but a necessity.
And the investment can’t stop at just dollars: This complex voting bloc comprises hundreds of languages, generational nuances, and geographic preferences — so for your efforts to be successful, hiring a team with the ability to bring a culturally-competent approach that meets voters with precision, respect, and relevant messaging is a must.
Cheryl Hori is the founder of Pacific Campaign House, a full-service democratic digital agency based in California.
