Smartphone user? The 2016 candidates are watching you

HARI SREENIVASAN:

As you heard, presidential campaigns are ramping up their rhetoric along with ads and events. But one of the most intense fights under way is happening off camera.

Our political director, Lisa Desjardins, reports on the 2016 battle taking place on our computers and phones.

LISA DESJARDINS:

With all the gentility of a marching band, the presidential campaign is under way and booming. But like much of America, you may think the 2016 presidential fight has yet to really enter your life.

Do you think any of the campaigns are paying any attention to you right now?

WOMAN:

Not really, no.

MAN:

Very little.

WOMAN:

Not a whole lot.

MAN:

Probably almost zero.

WOMAN:

Not really, no.

LISA DESJARDINS:

And last question, do you have a cell phone?

WOMAN:

Of course.

MAN:

Yes, I do.

WOMAN:

I do.

MAN:

Yes, I have a cell phone.

MAN:

Yes, I have a cell phone. It's a very big part of my life because I do a lot with my cell phone.

LISA DESJARDINS:

If you have a smartphone — and two-thirds of us in America do, according to the Pew Research Center — you are already on the radar for most 2016 campaigns. That's because campaigns left and right are now amassing more and more data about voters, and they're trying to influence you this time around using this.

STEPHANIE CUTTER, Co-founder, Precision Strategies:

The ability for campaigns now to target individuals on their mobiles with customized, individualized advertising, it's remarkable.

LISA DESJARDINS:

That's Stephanie Cutter. You may recognize her as a former spokeswoman for President Obama. In 2012, she and team Obama won a national campaign by dramatically expanding their data operation, turning out troves of voters by transforming millions of pieces of their personal data into a targeted campaign.

Now everyone is upping their digital game, including super PACs. Traditional on-stage debates have given way to digital face-offs on Twitter.

JEB BUSH, Republican Presidential Candidate:

Yes, they broke the law, but it's not a felony.

LISA DESJARDINS:

And Instagram. Two weeks ago, Donald Trump's Instagram feed contained three anti-Bush attack ads. How did he respond? Bush put up a YouTube video, of course, questioning Trump's GOP loyalty.

QUESTION:

Then why are you a Republican?

DONALD TRUMP, Republican Presidential Candidate:

I have no idea.

LISA DESJARDINS:

But the bigger digital battle is quieter at places like Precision Strategies in Washington, founded by some Obama veterans. The firm is working now for the Clinton campaign. And their next cyber-land of opportunity is the cell phone.

The number of Americans with smartphones has leapt by an estimated 660 million people in just the three years since the 2012 election to roughly 200 million now. About as many Americans are on Facebook. Of course, that includes some kids not old enough to vote, but it is still a voter data gold mine, and campaigns are working to connect that Facebook information to public information about how often you vote and to your cell phone, all that with the goal of targeting you at the right time with the right ad.

This is one reason campaign Web sites all ask, first thing, for your e-mail.

STEPHANIE CUTTER:

If somebody signs up on your Web site to get information from your campaign, that's easily matchable to Facebook, to Twitter and a whole host of other platforms. So your complete online identity can quickly be known to the campaign. And they can communicate with you through all these different touch points, with your permission, of course.

LISA DESJARDINS:

In this, Facebook is critical. Last month, the company sponsored a Republican debate and set up this lounge for reporters. Recently, the company made it easier to track some voter information, opening up its huge universe of data for campaigns to exploit.

ANDY STONE, Policy Communications Manager, Facebook:

There are now 193 million people on the platform every month. That's more than there are registered voters in this country. So, there's a whole team of people at Facebook that work with not only campaigns, but also elected officials, advocacy organizations, to help them use the platform as effectively as they possibly can to reach the people that they are trying to reach.

LISA DESJARDINS:

But Facebook has competition.

NICK SCHAPER, President, Engage:

A lot of folks are talking about Snapshot.

LISA DESJARDINS:

Nick Schaper runs the Republican-leaning strategy firm Engage. He's talking about Snapchat, an app that is changing cell phone use, especially for young people. Don't understand it?

This is how Snapchat works, quick videos like this one that you personalize with text.

Then the videos or photos disappear, either immediately or the next day. The idea has caught fire. Now Snapchat has launched a news division, curating the best videos and photos from people around the country into one story that can get millions of views. Take the Republican debate in August. Twice as many 18-to-24-year-olds watched that debate through Snapchat than on TV.

NICK SCHAPER:

It's not only being able to connect with the younger generation, but in using just a new medium that gives them some new advertising opportunities and new marketing opportunities and paid promotion opportunities to reach voters, is going to be pretty powerful.

LISA DESJARDINS:

Campaigns are racing to harness that power. In the meantime, voters, watch your smartphones.

Lisa Desjardins, PBS NewsHour, Washington.