Acxiom® Research Gives Candidates Insight to Swing State Voters

Better understanding of ‘purple states’ could influence Election Day outcomes

Sept. 16, 2008 – Acxiom® Corporation (Nasdaq: ACXM) today announced the findings of a study identifying the distinct characteristics of swing state voters. The study, titled “The Purple States – Why They Affect Elections,” lays out what the presidential candidates should focus on in order to win these critical votes.

The study shows that contrary to red and blue states that have similarities across the lifestyle segments specific to each, purple states are much more varied – a possible reason why elections in these states are so close. The findings reveal definite patterns that both candidates can leverage.

“Today, it is more important than ever to target messages to individual consumers,” said Ray Kraus, product manager for Acxiom. “Once the correct targets have been identified, the next step is to determine the most germane message possible. In this case, the content of the correspondence must resonate with the voter so that the candidate’s position on the issue is heard above the other noise of the day.”

The purple states document illustrated a process to identify targets and define communications strategies in the political context; however, the same principles and techniques can be used across all marketing initiatives.

Acxiom found that the purple segments are more likely to be older than the other groups, own homes in the suburbs, and be planning for retirement. Their only nest egg tends to be an IRA, which may affect their views on Social Security. Furthermore, their spending on prescription drugs is higher than the other groups, and therefore they are more likely to be concerned about the quality and affordability of publicly financed health care.

Additionally, those in the purple segment tend to get their news from newspapers and television news programs such as Fox News and CNN. The blue segments are likely to watch CNN but also tend to watch CNBC and MSNBC. The purple segment’s affinity for Fox News supports other findings in this study that suggest they lean further to the right.

While the study indicates the segments that best represent purple states are slightly more conservative, both parties can be successful in swing states by accurately targeting the right message to the right person.

“By examining the affinities and lifestyle choices of the blue, red and purple segments, the data reveals that both parties have an opportunity to win over the purple states,” said Kraus. “Republicans could influence purple state voters by appealing to their right-leaning tendencies, such as fiscal conservatism, while Democrats could successfully counter these messages by speaking to the obvious economic and health care issues. The candidate who crafts the right message to voters in these states will most likely find himself in the White House in January.”

The findings of this study were developed by analyzing 70 lifestyle segments across the United States using Acxiom’s PersonicX® market segmentation system. PersonicX determined the demographic, attitudes, behaviors and interests that differentiated voters in purple states from those who consistently vote Democratic or Republican in presidential elections.

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