How politicians are using mobile to engage

"New media has impacted presidential politics in unexpected ways: from the first televised presidential debate of 1960 to 2008's use of social media. 2012 is the year mobile will have a real impact on the voters, giving presidential candidates the chance to connect with voters on a personal level," said Jorey Ramer, Founder and VP of Corporate Development, Jumptap.

Jumptap recently pulled statistics from the Mitt Romney campaign during the South Carolina Primary. They found a 40% increase in traffic between 10-10:30PM and a 66% increase after 11PM compared to average days. With the Primary results announced late Saturday it would seem mobile consumers were checking in to find out what happened.

"Search/research lends itself particularly well to mobile," said Ramer. "From researching candidate views ('Click to Web'), to finding the closest polling station ('Click to Map') and even calling to make donations or to volunteer ('Click to Call'), connecting with politicians is literally at consumer fingertips."

And politicians are banking on that with mobile ad campaigns. Romney's campaign was the first to serve mobile ads (Iowa Caucus, New Hampsire Primary); those ads were served by Jumptap. The benefit? Through mobile politicians can target to the zip code level and can offer different ways to engage.

"The personal nature of the mobile device permits candidates to connect with voters on a relevant, more targeted level," said Ramer. "In addition to location based targeting, rich media and banner ads, politicians will leverage third-part data for deeper targeting and enhanced relevancy."

More from Jumptap on Monday when Ramer shares ways brands can engage more deeply through mobile.

Tags: 2012 Presidential Election, 2012 South Carolina Primary, Jumptap, mobile marketing, political advertising, political content