Inside the Fine Art of Political Ad Persuasion

[Commentary] The last two presidential elections were groundbreaking in their use of digital media. So much has evolved since then, and campaign advertisers now have more opportunities than ever to reach the right voters at the right time and on the right device. While TV may still be the medium of choice for campaign advertising, data-powered digital can now identify and reach discrete audiences at scale in an efficient, cost-effective and measurable way. For the first time, campaigners can focus on reaching individuals rather than households via channels such as social and mobile. Along with that promise, however, comes many challenges.

Reaching fragmented audiences across channels and devices is clearly possible, but not easy. How can a campaign marketer tell whether a voter is a Sen Bernie Sanders (I-VT) Democrat or a Donald Trump Republican? How can data identify these unique voter types and help marketers engage with them across screens? As campaign advertising begins shifting more funds and attention from TV to digital, there's a lot to learn. However, the learning process itself is exciting, and 2016 is proving to be the perfect canvas for the programmatic campaign.

[Peter Pasi is vice president, political sales, at the ad network Collective]