Targeted Abortion Frames Do Not Mobilize Political Action-Taking

Abstract

With the advent of Big Data, political organizations are increasingly able to target messages by demographic information. Past research has found mixed results whether targeted frames are more effective in persuading participants than standard, broad-based frames. In this paper, we study the efficacy of targeted appeals in mobilizing likely supporters to take action on abortion rights. In a departure from past research, we focus our efforts on mobilization (rather than persuasion) and identity-based appeals (rather than policy preference-based appeals). We first collect real-world evidence through elite interviews that practitioners in the space actually use targeted appeals to garner support. We then partner with a political organization to conduct an online field experiment using targeted frames. Finally, we conduct two survey experiments to test the efficacy of targeted frames in a controlled setting. We find that targeted mobilization appeals are no more effective than standard appeals in mobilizing existing supporters to take action on behalf abortion rights. We do not find evidence of a demobilizing effect when frames are mis-targeted. Our findings suggest that organizations can innovate their messaging to target new groups without alienating core supporters.