Multiple Dimensions of Mobilization: The Effect of Direct Contact and Political Ads on Latino Turnout in the 2000 Presidential Election

Campaigns are not national, monolithic, one-size-fits-all events, but instead can be viewed as separate, segmented attempts to engage different groups of voters. This paper explores the effectiveness of different types of mobilization strategies among one group of voters, Latinos. Drawing from an integrated marketing communications framework, we argue that both direct contact and indirect contact should be effective in mobilizing Latinos, with the former having a stronger effect. In addition, we argue that targeted strategies should be more effective than general strategies among this segment of the population. We find support for these hypotheses using data from the 2000 TRPI survey and CMAG data.