MiQ launches first electorate-level programmatic targeting solution in Australia

MiQ has unveiled a programmatic targeting solution that allows political advertisers and brands to reach Australian voters at the electorate level - a first for the local market.

The solution enables advertisers to overcome the limitations of traditional postcode and city-level targeting, which often span multiple electorates and reduce message precision. MiQ’s new approach uses custom-built geo-shape files for each electorate, allowing campaigns to deliver messaging with far greater accuracy during the current federal election period.

MiQ’s Head of Product and Solutions, Vishal Shah, said the tool fills a long-standing gap in the political and advocacy media market. “Postcodes rarely align neatly with electorates, which means targeting spills into unintended areas,” Shah said. “We’ve solved that. Now advertisers can target exactly the electorates they need  nothing more, nothing less.”

The platform also incorporates audience insights based on TV consumption habits, such as viewers of national or local news, non-English speaking households, or audiences of specific debates. Campaigns can be further enriched with real-time sentiment data from sources like Reddit and publicly available electoral data from the AEC.

The technology is integrated into MiQ’s agnostic programmatic ecosystem and supports campaigns across all major DSPs and media channels. According to MiQ, targeted electorates during the election have already exceeded campaign benchmarks, with frequency optimisation helping to boost reach in smaller regions.

Vishal Shah, MiQ head of product & solutions, said: “Traditionally, digital platforms [DSPs] allow targeting at city or postcode levels - but electorates rarely align neatly with those boundaries. That means postcode targeting often spills into multiple electorates, diluting impact and precision. We’ve solved that.

“Through a collaboration with Foursquare, and our team of analysts and data scientists in India, we’ve built custom geo-shape files for every electorate in the country. These bespoke files are uploaded directly into the DSP, allowing our traders to target exactly the electorates they need — nothing more, nothing less.

MiQ Australia and New Zealand Managing Director, Fiona Roberts, added the electorate targeting solution is a first for programmatic advertising.

“With the Federal election now entering its third week, it has the ability for parties to really make an impact at a precise voter level using this groundbreaking solution. This is just the start of a number of exciting new product releases we have planned for the year.”