FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane
FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe debate over AI’s future rages on both coasts
FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane
FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe debate over AI’s future rages on both coasts
Does whether or not you own a smartphone affect the way you'll vote in an election? If one candidate is dominating the mobile advertising market, then it might.
Velti and Harris Interactive partnered recently to conduct an online survey of about 800 iPhone and Android users, and found that there was a huge difference in political alignment depending on whether a person owned a smartphone or not: 49% preferred President Obama, while 31% chose Mitt Romney.
A breakdown of the results shows more interesting numbers:
- iPhone/Android owners with a college degree or higher: Obama, 56% vs. Romney, 35%
- iPhone/Android owners with a household income of $75,000 a year or greater: Obama, 49% vs. Romney, 39%
- iPhone/Android owners who are retired: Obama, 34% vs. Romney, 57%
Obama found more support in this survey from younger voters and voters who are single/never married.
How about you, #nerdland? Vote in our poll below if you own a smartphone, and then keep reading below the jump for more about Obama's and Romney's mobile campaign moves.
While these numbers might seem arbitrary (an online survey is never truly indicative of the way an election will really go come November), they could be important as both campaigns work to find new ways to reach out to voters.
Last month, Romney became the first politician to use Apple's iAd, a mobile advertising platform developed for Apple products that allows third-party brands and developers to embed ads into applications. The campaign is also working to get their ads to Android users through Google's mobile network, and have started an aggressive Facebook campaign as well.
"We're executing the plan that we need to in order to win in November," Zac Moffatt, Romney's digital team director said in an interview with Business Insider. "If it was just about how many people you could hire, the person in charge would never lose. It's about having the tools to be successful."
Of course, Romney's mobile campaign hasn't come without a few bumps. Who could forget this "Amercia" typo in Romney's iPhone photo app?
Team Obama, meanwhile, hasn't advertised much of their mobile and online tactics this time around. In 2008, Obama became known for using tools like YouTube and Twitter to reach out to younger voters. The Obama campaign is continuing their online interaction with voters through more channels, such as Tumblr and Pinterest, but I'm not sure if it's as aggressive as the Romney campaign. (Even on my own Facebook when I log in, I see ads for Romney.)
What do you think about the candidates' mobile and online campaigning? Is it too much, or surprisingly effective?















