Mitt Romney to campaign to iOS users by being first politician to use iAd

Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney wants to campaign to the iOS set, so he is becoming the first politician to advertise using iAd. The Wall Street Journal says Romney's decision confirms a trend toward mobile advertising as President Obama is also using mobile ad networks to focus on certain demographics. While both candidates are trying to use demographic and geographic data in order to capture one of those important swing states, Apple says that Romney's iAds are the first of their kind. While neither side will discuss their dollar commitment to digital ads, Borrell Associates  predicts that campaigns and outside groups will spend just $159 million on digital advertising this year.

People will spend more time with Romney's iAd according to Zac Moffatt, the Romney campaign's digital director. In addition to iOS, Romney also has ads running on the Google mobile network to cover Android users as well. The ads will continue to run right up to the Republican National Convention in August. And while President Obama's camp did not want to give away any details of their digital ad strategy, Obama ads have also popped up on Google's network.

Romney's team found that much of the traffic visiting their web site came from a mobile product, and a majority of those were using an Apple mobile device. Romney Digital Director Moffat feels that smartphone users are a captive audience and is, "the most personal device you carry. We felt like we wanted to connect with people where they spend their time." The iAd spots will be interactive and offer a link to the "With Mitt" photo sharing app. They will run only in states where television spots will also run and feature embedded video as well as a link that supporters can use to donate to the campaign.

The Romney iAd spots will start running next week.

source: AppleInsider