Stop Mistaking Headlines for Voter Values

Public narrative around an issue doesn’t always reflect what people value. 

Take diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, for instance. Many companies have seemingly distanced themselves from the topic over the last couple of years, but just because we’ve stopped talking about it doesn’t mean people have stopped caring about diversity. 

A Pew Research Center survey found that 75 percent of Americans believe racial diversity is good for the U.S, a view shared by majorities of both Democrats (86 percent) and Republicans (66 percent). 

In my 25-plus years of working in media and advertising, we frequently confuse what’s being said with what the audience is feeling, and make bad assumptions as a result. For political advertisers that’s an expensive mistake.

Spotting the Issue Is the Easy Part

Every election has its hot-button issue and campaigns are built around them. Spotting it is easy, but understanding why it matters to voters is what campaigns often miss.

Let’s use data centers as an example. On the surface, you might think the debate is about where to build them, or whether the economic upside justifies the strain on electricity and water. But voters are asking other questions: Who pays for the infrastructure? Who benefits from the investment? And do locals get a say before one goes up down the road? It’s more nuanced than we might think. And there are emotional reasons, too. If you were recently laid off and you blame AI, it’s likely you’ll be against their arrival. 

Knowing data centers are a hot topic tells you what’s getting attention. It doesn’t tell you whether someone’s concern is financial security, fairness or having a say in their community. Miss the context and your ad will fall flat, regardless of how well it’s targeted. 

Good Targeting Needs Context

Marketers have a habit of mistaking what we know about someone’s circumstances for what they believe. I see this in political advertising, as well. 

Where people live can help us understand the issues they face, but understanding why those issues matter requires more context. Understanding what voters care about most can help campaigns identify which policies are likely to resonate and which issues could influence their vote. However, those priorities can change. A voter who moves to another state might become more concerned about property taxes than rent. The immediate concern has shifted, but the underlying value of financial security has remained the same. New experiences can change people’s priorities too, which is why fixating on one data point is flawed. 

The same goes for party labels. Fairness, freedom and security don’t belong to either side of the political spectrum. People can share a principle, but still disagree about what the right policy is. Bucketing voters into target pools is only one part of the strategy. Understanding what they value and prioritize is the other.

People Are Nuanced. Political Targeting Usually Isn’t.

Real people are messier than audience segments. Someone can want the jobs a data center promises and at the same time worry about the impact on their utility bill. That’s not a contradiction, it’s just the reality of balancing competing priorities.

Political advertising rarely makes room for that gray area. A development project is good for the economy or bad for the community. AI is a threat or an opportunity. What voters want answered usually sits in between two opposing views. 

The biggest mistake in political advertising is leveraging outdated tactics that make assumptions about what voters care about, while missing out on persuadable audiences. Age and party registration are just one part of the equation. Truly understanding the context of what voters care about gives you a more holistic understanding of how they will vote. 

Companies may have gone quiet on DEI, but people didn’t stop caring about fairness, opportunity and diversity. Data centers might be the focus this year, but the next election will have its own hot-button issue. Before campaigns build their advertising around the trending topic, they need to do the harder work of understanding why voters care.

Chad Hickey is founder and CEO of Givsly, an advertising technology company helping brands align with consumers through values-based marketing solutions. Previously, he led global revenue at GroundTruth (formerly xAd) before joining Placed, which was acquired by Snap. Connect with him on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/chadhickey