Changing Media Landscape Making it Harder to Reach Voters
A study revealed that despite the estimated $3 billion broadcast television ad spending for the 2012 election, online streaming and mobile and time-shifted viewing have empowered voters to control their programming and ad consumption that it significantly reduces the effectiveness of broadcast ad dollars.
The study conducted by SAY Media in partnership with digital political media consulting firm Chong & Koster revealed the following key findings when they interviewed 800 potential voters:
Voters Consume Video in Nontraditional Ways: Today’s voters rely on a variety of sources for video content. Roughly one-third have not watched live TV in the past week, and 43 percent count something other than live TV as their primary way of consuming video content.
The Next Generation of Voters are Consuming Less Live TV: Thirty-six percent of younger voters are less likely to consume live TV than they were a year ago, and more likely to consume online, time-shifted and mobile video content. This generation of voters will continue to move away from live viewing and will become increasingly difficult to reach through traditional media.
National Trends Made Up of Local Trends: While the study shows that 31 percent of the national audience has not watched live TV in the last week, that number rose to 38 percent in Ohio. This strongly suggests that migration away from live TV is a national trend and not simply limited to states on the coasts.
Matt Rosenberg, vice president for solutions of SAY Media, stressed the importance of planning political campaigns to effectively reach voters, saying:
“It’s really important to get political advertising right. When you’re not watching TV it’s less likely that you will be influenced by the message of the day which is key for political media specialists. To succeed in the next election cycle and maximize reach among the dwindling supply of swayable voters who will decide outcomes, political campaigns must leave as few voters out of their planning as possible by taking advantage of other media channels as a way to reach voters.”
