Dinner as a Vote Predictor?

April 16th, 2008 at 03:09pm Cindy Harris

What do Dr. Pepper drinkers and Chic-fil-A eaters have in common? They’re typically Republican. Likewise, those who have Fig Newtons in the cookie jar are likely supporters of Senator Clinton, and Bear Naked granola chompers are supporters of Senator Obama. Today’s New York Times reports that political pollsters are increasingly turning to “microtrending” to slice and dice the electorate down to what brands of food and drink we like and what we do in our free time. Once they do that, then they know how to communicate with us and what message to send.

Microtrending is certainly something the big consumer-goods marketers have done for a while now, and politicos are catching on. In fact, Mark Penn - he formerly of “chief Clinton strategist” fame - is actually a leader in the field. His book - Microtrends: The Small Forces Behind Tomorrow’s Big Changes - was published last year.

Locally, you’re still likely to see mailing lists and other marketing communications tactics being tailored based on general demographic information like age, household income, etc. But the data we parse locally is just the surface of what you can find out about the general public when you’re marketing to them. So, what’s in YOUR fridge?

Entry Filed under: Database marketing, Political