In the 2012 Presidential election, Latino voters are a crucial voter pool, and some experts believe mobile-phone campaigns will be the key to reaching this group.
Part of the reason experts feel that mobile-phone campaigns will be useful in targeting this audience is that out of the 21 million eligible Latino voters, more than 30% of them are between the ages of 18 to 30. According to Peter Levine, the Director of the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, young Latino voters are more likely to use their phones versus older generations, therefore campaigns that incorporate mobile technology have a better chance of reaching young Latino voters.
“It’s really easy to reach me on my phone because I have it with me all the time – when I’m on the train, when I’m walking,” says Alex Velasco, a 26 year-old first generation Mexican American. “If you send me something political (on my phone), I would be way more likely to read it because it is so easy.”
President Barack Obama is ahead of the curve when it comes to mobile-media campaigning: the president not only has a mobile-optimized website, but he has also created a Latinos for Obama mobile-optimized website.
“The promise and power of digital is to reach people in the places where they already are, and get them using social tools to spread the word about the president to their own networks,” said Gabriela Domenzain, the Director of Hispanic Media for the Obama Campaign.
Recent Comments