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Washington Post Media segments polling industry news with mobile app

The Washington Post Media?s Capital Insight group has launched a mobile application that bundles news from the polling industry to let consumers quickly access content.

The Poll Watch app is available for free download from Apple?s App Store and Google Play. Apps have played a big role in shaping the Washington Post?s mobile strategy in the past few years.

"Capital Insight is dedicated to producing quantitative and qualitative research, and we felt there was a need we could fill with a comprehensive polling app," said Jon Cohen, general manager and polling director of Capital Insight, Washington.

"Our app aggregates the latest information, industry news, graphics and social media related to polling" he said.

Capital Insight is the independent polling group of Washington Post Media. The company provides quantitative and qualitative research and analysis for The Washington Post newsroom and the publisher?s advertising division.

Political hub
The app is being rolled out in conjunction with the upcoming American Association for Public Opinion Research conference, which will take place in Boston from May 16 - 19.

Users with the app will be able to follow along with discussions, presentations and graphics during the conference. Additionally, Instagram photos and tweets from the event will be aggregated into the app.

The app lets consumers follow news in the polling industry. News from all major polling outfits in the United States are bundled into the app.

Three tabs run along the bottom of the app ? news, Twitter and info.

Under the news section, consumers can view polling charts, articles and commentary from The Washington Post.

The information tab lets users skim through a list of polling resources that link consumers to information such as the Capital Insight blog, Washington Post polls and Pew Research Center Polls.

With consumers relying on their mobile devices as a primary way to read news, the Washington Post app is set up to be used for repeat visits from consumers.

Mobile publisher
The Poll Watch app is the latest example of how apps are playing an important role in the Washington Post?s mobile and digital strategy.

Most recently, the company revamped its flagship iPad app with new features ? such as digital copies of print articles ? to reach both Web-savvy users and readers who prefer to read a print version of the paper (see story). 

Additionally, the publisher has used more niche apps to segment portions of content.

The company rolled out a city guides app last year to help drive tourism and let consumers scout out local deals and offers, for example (see story).

For the recent elections, the Washington Post also launched an election app last year that aggregated all of the publisher?s content in one place for voters (see story). 

"We?re excited that we?ve been able to create a comprehensive, on-the-go experience for anyone who wants to follow polls and related news, so it is hard to pick just one [feature]," Mr. Cohen said.

"However, if we had to single out one feature, we?re especially excited about how we?ve incorporated social media into Poll Watch," he said.

"By powering the app with Trove, we can easily pull relevant content, Tweets and Instagrams from a variety of sources, and it gives people a far richer way to experience the conversation around the latest polls and polling."

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is associate reporter on Mobile Marketer, New York