Democrats select single media buying platform for all state races

The Association of State Democratic Committees, the group responsible for overseeing Democratic Party state efforts, is strongly encouraging all its state campaigns to use a single digital ad tech platform from a company called TargetSmart. The move aims to help Democrats streamline their ad buys and save money, but some critics say the one-vendor mandate is anticompetitive and limits innovation. TargetSmart has been one of the leading voter data sources for Democratic political parties and progressive organizations since it launched in 2006. The company provides services to the Democratic National Committee to enhance their voter file. TargetSmart also operates a demand-side platform (DSP) that allows its to buy and place digital ads on behalf of customers in a programmatic, or automated, fashion. Its ad-buying platform sits on top of its proprietary voter file. The firm is privately owned by its cofounders, Drew Brighton and Jeff Ferguson.