Personas, polls and personalization: What’s behind the election of our lives?

If you’re a fan of “House of Cards,” you know what a plot twist Pollyhop was in season four (and if you’re not caught up, SPOILER ALERT!). This powerhouse search engine has been central to challenger Will Conway’s success. With the help of a data scientist, Conway’s been recovering data from the search engine to target voters with unparalleled — and undoubtedly illegal — precision.

Thanks to the data, Conway and his campaign crew can see exactly who individual voters are, plus glean vital information on what the country is looking for in a candidate. Armed with that intel he can, essentially, be everything to everyone with unwavering precision.

We’re (hopefully) nowhere near the creepiness level of Pollyhop. Still, data has become a major focal point of the 2016 presidential race.

While I’m endlessly intrigued by the heated debates — and even the not-so-presidential mudslinging that’s happening — I’m equally amazed by the sheer level of data-driven marketing that’s steering this unwieldy ship. It’s not Pollyhop, but it’s still really cool (and, hopefully, more legal).

Read the full post on Marketingland.com.