Politics
The last US Presidential election was considered an important moment — not just due to the outcome, but how the win was achieved. Metrics, Big Data and insight were a key driver in Barack Obama reaching a second term in The White House. As noted in Nesta, one Obama campaigner said, “We stopped thinking in terms of ‘soccer moms’ and started thinking in terms of Mary Smith at 37, Pivot Street, alongside John Jones at 38 Pivot Street.” Some of the questions that arose included whether or not this was an “unfair” advantage or merely the next logical evolution of politics and campaigning. Data, in all of it’s imperfect glory, has gone from the Town Hall to the halls of Big Data — in real-time — and is building a mountain of understanding for any person seeking political office.
The ramifications of this phenomenon are being seen in the UK, especially, with political parties. Specifically, Labour has hired former Obama campaign leaders. Additionally, sophisticated platforms are being used, built and retooled to get even the slightest edge possible in what could be a very tight election. Throw in the democratisation of social media, and there is an endless loop of context, content and data to mine. Investment is also running at a fever pitch with £31M spent by UK parties in 2010, not including spending by individual candidates. Time will tell where that figure lands in 2015.
But it’s not just about getting to office. Once there, how does the new world of communication, especially social media, impact the agenda? Each majour UK party is deeply rooted in communicating through social channels. It’s only a matter of time before of the parties (or candidates) decides that a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) would be valuable, as it was for Obama. For long-time politicians who are behind the social curve, it will be interesting to see if that impacts the sense and sensibilities of an increasingly digital-savvy electorate.
Join us at Advertising Week Europe as we learn more about how the brave new world of politics will morph and change — featuring leading figures, media and those working in the data trenches.
