WASHINGTON, DC – Democratic communications firm SKDKnickerbocker, Republican survey research firm McLaughlin & Associates, and technology company LocaModa today announced a partnership to roll out LocaModa Red and Blue – a bipartisan social media tool for elected officials, candidates, and politicos to engage the constituents and political audiences they care about. LocaModa allows campaigns, interest groups, and other organizations to add specific Twitter tags to pull in content relevant to the location where the technology is displayed – from town halls to political conventions, gala events to fundraisers, and more.

Screenshot of a LocaModa board with messages tagged #Obama2012. To create your own free board with targeted Twitter accounts or hashtags, visit http://locamoda.com.

“Major brands including AT&T, GAP, Gatorade and Diet Coke, as well as professional sports teams and the US Department of Education use LocaModa effectively to connect with audiences. We hope that by offering our premium platform as a free service to politicos, we can help them connect to their audiences in the same way and to expand the online conversation that is already happening in the political sphere,” said Stephen Randall, CEO of LocaModa.

LocaModa Red (for Republicans) and Blue (for Democrats) will allow politicos to engage in an interactive dialogue with their target audience. In a town hall setting, for example, lawmakers can pre-select a Twitter account and/or hashtag that they want to highlight on their LocaModa board, then live-stream Tweets related to those topics to provide content for Q&As and guide discussion on specific issues. Projecting LocaModa onto a backdrop, TV, or big screen takes the interactive experience to the next level, allowing your physical audience to engage in a real-time dialogue with your digital constituents.

“Social media technology like LocaModa Red and Blue is where campaigns are headed,” said Anita Dunn, Managing Partner of SKDKnickerbocker. “More interaction with voters, more real-time conversations, more feedback – this is a tool to facilitate that.”

“Technologies don’t change the goal of campaigns, they simply change how you achieve that goal,” said Jim McLaughlin, President and Partner of McLaughlin & Associates.  “This technology is part of that change that is happening.”

Nationally-recognized brands, organizations, and even the 2008 Obama campaign have used LocaModa for fundraising and to aggregate, filter, and visualize real-time content. LocaModa has also offered the free service to educators; to date, this place-based social media technology has been implemented by over 100,000 educators in classrooms across the country.

Democrats and progressive groups interested in trying LocaModa Blue can sign up for free on SKDKnickerbocker’s website, and Republicans and conservative groups can do the same on McLaughlin & Associates’ website. Once you have created an account, you can add specific Twitter accounts and/or hashtags that you are interested in following and LocaModa will aggregate, filter, and visualize those terms on your board. Messages are auto-filtered for profanity and displayed according to submission. For additional moderation or configuration, please contact LocaModa at info@locamoda.com for pricing on premium tiers.

About SKDKnickerbocker:

With offices in Washington, D.C., New York City, and Albany, SKDKnickerbocker is a nationally recognized strategic communications consulting firm. SKDK brings unparalleled strategic communications experience to Fortune 500 companies, political groups and candidates, non-profits, and labor organizations. There is no company that better understands the intersection of press, politics, and policy. And there is no better place than SKDK if you are in need of strategic communications advice to manage a crisis, protect a brand, advocate an issue, or win an election. Visit SKDKnickerbocker online at www.skdknick.com.

About McLaughlin & Associates:

For almost 2 decades, McLaughlin & Associates, a national polling research and strategic services company, has created and conducted public opinion research surveys that tell the real story behind critical issues facing a host of high profile companies, non-profit organizations and political campaigns. Producing accurate, timely and reliable information is only part of what we do. A full-service survey research firm, McLaughlin & Associates’ insightful analysis of opinion research has been instrumental in creating successful campaigns and programs for clients in the national and international arena. And we’re completely committed to your success. From development of a questionnaire to analysis of survey results, we work as a strategic partner to turn research statistics into winning results. Visit McLaughlin & Associates online at http://www.mclaughlinonline.com/.

About LocaModa:

LocaModa serves social media to locations and events, globally. The company is privately held and headquartered in Cambridge, MA.  www.locamoda.com.