6. Data-Driven Campaigning: A Case Study from the Ground

In this chapter, I use a case study of how the Labor Party attempted to target voters who were viewed as ‘persuadable’ and who were perceived to be intending to vote for Australia’s populist radical right party, Pauline Hanson’s One Nation. I demonstrate that while the strategy was underpinned by a sophisticated data and analytics operation, the messages delivered to these voters had been tested and the messaging was layered and integrated across online and offline channels, the experiences of campaigners on the ground suggests the strategy failed. I utilise extensive interview data—including interviews with volunteers in eleven electorates as well as intra-party actors and stakeholders—to point to some of the challenges that parties face in embracing data-driven campaigning.