Partners Link Voter and Consumer Data

In the US, Scarborough Research is adding nationwide voter data from political data provider TargetSmart Communications to its own consumer database, to enable agencies, politicians and lobbyists to examine consumer behavior relevant to specific election issues.

Scarborough, which is a joint venture between Arbitron and Nielsen, offers consumer insights that reflect shopping patterns, media usage across platforms, and lifestyle trends; while TargetSmart compiles and maintains a national database of nearly 240 million registered and unregistered voters.

The new joint offering is designed to provide local and national insights on voters and voter behavior by political party affiliation, as well as in-depth information on certain voter groups such as women, young voters and Hispanics.

Bill Russell, TargetSmart's Director of Business Development, says the aim is to create added insights on voters that might help campaigns have an edge over their competition.

Scarborough EVP of Commercial Development Brian Condon adds: 'We are confident that the Scarborough/TargetSmart political offering will provide new and more targeted ways for media companies, political advertising campaigns and other relevant parties to look at voter behavior and trends to support their efforts to most efficiently reach key constituents.'

Web sites: www.scarborough.com and www.targetsmartcommunications.com .