Part online dating, part online trading, “programmatic” advertising is the automated matching of ads targeting specific types of audiences with available ad inventory reaching those audiences. Figuring out how this might work for television is one of advertising’s hottest parlor games, still more concept than reality. But the technology is quickly transforming digital. eMarketer projects […]

Your Facebook profile doesn’t have boxes to check which political party you belong to or whether you voted in the last election. But political organizations who already know that can now deliver Facebook ads to fit your political preferences. At least two statewide campaigns during the past year have used the new tool, “Custom Managed Audiences,” […]

If you are a living, breathing, voting-age American, the political analytics firm i360 says it has your number. Its database contains more than 250 million individual profiles, basically one for every adult in the country, each of which is scored on a 100-point scale. Zero represents the most partisan Democrat, and 100 the most partisan […]

Political campaign advertising in the form of Facebook and YouTube videos began to take hold in the 2014 congressional races. But candidates are still struggling to use them effectively. For much of the campaign, the political ads encountered online were 15- and 30-second clips that appeared before the videos that users actually wanted to watch on […]

If someone from past centuries – be it 200 or 2000 years ago – were to time travel to this decade, they would be utterly amazed at our modern technology and it’s capabilities, but they would be more than familiar with many of the purposes it serves. Politics and social unrest have been around since man […]

Cast your minds back to 2010, to the birth of the General Election Television Debate (in the UK at least). It was also, for those who can remember, when the Lib Dems were last popular, with Nick Clegg coming out on top, by quite a margin, for all three of the broadcasts – “I agree […]

At some point in the next two years, the pollsters and ad makers who steer American presidential campaigns will be stumped: The nightly tracking polls are showing a dramatic swing in the opinions of the electorate, but neither of two typical factors — huge news or a major advertising buy — can explain it. They […]

Well, it’s the end of the year, so like many of you I’m thinking a lot about what worked in 2014 and what’s around the corner. Traditionally I write a blog post for Epolitics.com about what I think are going to be the hot trends in social, and here’s a bit of a sneak peak. […]

Stop the presses! The Harper government is at it again. A couple of recent news stories have — once again — thrust government communications practices into the spotlight; the CBC’s Kady O’Malley took a measured look at some of the government’s latest tactics here. The tone from journalists in reaction to these efforts has varied from slight ridicule […]

Social media is no longer just a platform for baby pictures and college shenanigans. It’s become home to civil discourse, the rallying of voices and space to share on community issues. It is also where some local officials go to stay connected to their constituents. From city managers with fan pages to trustees asking for feedback on […]