It’s official. The presidential election is in full swing with Obama vs. Romney polls and ads coming out in full force. Interestingly enough, the polling data may not be as cut-and-dry as it once was. New research is showing that if you own a smartphone, you’re nearly twice as likely to vote for President Barak Obama than GOP-presumed nominee, Mitt Romney.
Velti, a mobile marketing company, recently released a survey showing that smartphone owners support Obama at a rate of 49%, compared to 31% supporting Romney. In case you’re wondering, the undecided voters make up the remaining 20 percent.
Why Is This Survey Significant?
Traditional political polls are currently conducted by calling landline phones, and those polls are showing Romney slightly ahead of Obama. Given that smartphone users are twice as likely to vote for Obama, the research suggests that these are likely to be very different populations of voters, and with more younger Americans (Generation X and Y) abandoning landlines altogether, it may be that the mobile phone voting population is larger than one thinks.
Krishna Subramanian, Chief Marketing Officer for Velti, echoes this sentiment. “The results of this survey demonstrate that the smartphone market is becoming a whole new demographic that candidates must take into consideration when building a comprehensive campaign strategy,” he said in a statement.
This was even more clear when researchers found that younger smartphone users — especially females – are planning to vote for Obama at the 60 percent level.
Is there a Voting Preference Among Those Using Different Smartphone Platforms?
As much as the fanboys (and girls) would like to think, there is no difference among presidential preferences when it comes to Android and iPhone users. In other words, it’s likely that both the Obama and Romney platforms have the same numbers of iPhone and Android users. One device does not favor one candidate.
However the Velti survey does suggest that the iPhone user base has grown so large of the last several years that the political preferences of its users do not sway one way or the other.
It will be interesting to see if these number change as the election nears, and whether more smartphone users will gravitate toward Romney. Either way, it looks more and more likely that the presidential election will not be as simple as landlines vs. smartphone usage.
Share your thoughts below — I’d love to hear your opinion.
Ivana Taylor is the publisher of DIYMarketers and the President of Third Force, a strategic marketing firm. She's the marketing expert and book editor for Small Business Trends and a frequent contributor to AMEX Open Forum.
When I read that automated polls are not allowed to call cell phone numbers, I wondered about this exact topic! I am in my early 30s and do not have a landline. I have not had one for 4 years. I think it’s safe to say I am not alone, and I am sure this difference may manifest itself in the election. It might be interesting if the margin is large enough that it would actually sway the overall results in an election as close as this.