Several news outlets have reported Facebook is considering limiting or completely banning political ads in the days leading up to the 2020 election. If the Facebook ban becomes a reality, campaigns will need to switch to other available tools to reach the right voters with the right message. VoteMAP’s mobile-first audience targeting platform might be the best option to fill the gap.
For most political campaigns and organizations, a Facebook ban on political ads will represent a seismic shift in current digital strategy. Campaigns have become reliant on Facebook’s ability to provide large audiences at low cost. While other digital tools like OTT/CTV can help campaigns compensate for lost ad space, VoteMAP’s mobile-first targeting platform directly and accurately targets and reaches campaigns’ voters. Taking a look at VoteMAP now could save campaigns and consultants money and heartache before the fall ad-buying blitz.
VoteMAP has experience with local, state, and national campaigns and has created hundreds of custom audiences. It offers candidates and campaigns of any size and budget the ability to curate affordable, custom-built, target audiences through mobile data. VoteMAP leverages billions of monthly mobile events to match any campaign’s voter file at a household level, or a campaign can utilize one of the voter files maintained by our strategic partner L2 Political.
Here are 5 reasons why VoteMAP may be the best alternative to Facebook:
1. VoteMAP Reaches Voters Where They Spend Most of The Time: Their Phones
Mobile consumption continues to grow. Studies show that most people spend more than 3 hours a day on their smartphones and tablets and that most of that time is outside the walled gardens of Facebook and Google. VoteMAP is a mobile-first audience targeting platform designed to digitally connect candidates to voters by reaching them where the voters actually are.
VoteMAP match rates with voter files are currently 90+% since people are staying closer to home. This enables campaigns to reach voters at a household level with cookie-free data and without the need of home IP addresses.
Although audience creation is an art in and of itself, delivery or audience penetration is another key component. VoteMAP allows users to deliver digital messages via banner advertisements or video to a targeted audience across all mobile/connected devices. VoteMAP deploys ads on its unique programmatic bidder that leverages multiple DSP platforms for maximum audience penetration. Ads can be delivered in-app, mobile-web, or browser and to OTT/CTV devices. VoteMAP uses cross-device targeting to push into home laptops and desktops associated to those mobile devices. This provides optimum message delivery to the voters that campaigns are trying to reach in their audience.
2. VoteMAP Provides First-Party Data Via Mobile Device IDs to Campaigns.
VoteMAP offers campaigns the option to access mobile data in the form of mobile device IDs. This first-party data can be uploaded into a campaign’s DSP or ad server as its own data. Additionally, until Facebook goes dark on political ads, VoteMAP will continue to allow campaigns ownership of mobile device IDs so they can upload this first-party data to ensure their ad spend reaches the right audience on the platform
3. VoteMAP Precisely Targets Underserved Communities
Mobile phones are crucial to reaching underserved communities that may not have internet access. People of color, younger adults, rural voters, and lower-income Americans over-index for mobile phone use compared to other groups. Because VoteMAP is mobile-first, data processed from these phones allow campaigns to reach these voters more effectively.
For example, VoteMAP has worked in El Paso, TX with 2020 Census efforts to target “Hard to Count” populations by creating custom audiences and reaching residents directly on their phones in a bilingual campaign.
4. VoteMAP Builds Accurate and Measurable Campaign Analytics
VoteMAP can build winning strategies through mobile data. After campaigns reach audiences via mobile devices, those interactions can be confirmed and reported throughout the campaign. Measuring key performance indicators assist campaigns in determining which messages are resonating with voters.
By serving precision surveys, VoteMAP can gain insight into voter sentiment. For example, playable videos with a survey allow for rapid creative testing to gauge which message engages your audience.
5. VoteMAP Creates Targeted Audiences for Campaigns of Any Size and Budget
In the age of COVID 19, fundraising is uncertain and media budgets are tight. When you deliver the right message to the right audience, you save time and money. Using the right data to build your audience and deploying the right information via well-placed ads will allow campaigns to deliver resonating messages to mobilize and build lasting relationships with voters.
Jennifer McEwan is a political scientist with a Ph.D. in data analytics. She is co-founder and CEO of VoteMAP, a mobile data company specializing in political audiences.