Today's evolving TV-viewing habits have necessitated the convergence of streaming and linear tactics for political advertisers to get the right message in front of the right voters.
Incorporating streaming TV into a media plan offers a myriad of advantages. It not only increases audience reach, but it unlocks the potential for deeper targeting, enabling campaigns to expand their connections and effectiveness at scale, with voters at every stage of their decision-making journey.
Reaching Audiences on the Move
Streaming TV represents nearly 40% share of total TV usage, and video viewers spend an estimated 2.8 times more with the combination of cable and streaming than broadcast TV.1 Although linear TV allows you to reach a large and broad audience, a significant amount of viewers are missed when streaming TV is not included.
Spectrum Reach, the advertising sales business of Charter Communications, has seen the expansion of streaming viewership. Adding streaming to linear campaign results in a 33% increase in reach, based on a study of more than 6,000 campaigns.2 This valuable audience should not be missed.
"As the media business transforms to impression-based currency with regard to the convergence of linear and streaming inventory, it's essential that political campaigns plan a multiscreen advertising approach in order to best reach voters, wherever they are watching," says Bill Clifford, Spectrum Reach's Head of Political Sales.
Zeroing in on Your Desired Audience
A layered media approach that includes streaming TV allows for more focused and customized targeting, such as precise geography and even addressable household targeting. To achieve the most efficient and effective campaigns, Spectrum Reach uses aggregated and de-identified first-party data matched with third-party data in a privacy compliant manner to pinpoint specific audiences and voter segments, informing streaming campaigns down to the zip code and even household level. This is especially key in competitive political districts with more narrow geographies than a full DMA.
Tailoring political ads based on one attribute of their intended audience (like party affiliation) can be 70% more effective in swaying policy support.3 Reaching the right voters based on who they are, where they are, and what they are most likely to be interested in is vital to marketing effectively during political campaigns.
Voters also are watching the same content and networks they love on traditional linear TV through streaming apps. Political advertisers can bolster their campaigns by reaching viewers who access the same national and local news brands, as well as live sports and entertainment across any screen. A strategy targeting viewers watching live content is also key to reaching an engaged audience. Streaming TV is a powerful extension of linear TV, amplifying the campaign message wherever the audience is watching.
Optimizing Campaign Performance and Protecting your Brand
Advertising without media waste is an essential goal for marketers as this political cycle continues. By leveraging data to find the right audience and measure the right combination of reach & frequency, advertisers can more effectively optimize their campaign performance and results. Additionally, it's important to maximize your budget by ensuring your impressions are delivered to real voters alongside safe, non-controversial content.
"We provide detailed and transparent reporting to show how multiscreen campaigns are performing throughout the entire process," says Derek Smith, Spectrum Reach's Political Streaming Sales Lead. "We also are the first local media organization to achieve TAG Platinum Status, meaning we ensure the highest level of safety for brands and protect them against all forms of ad fraud."
Achieving Media Effectiveness
As viewership habits continue to evolve, the integration of streaming and linear TV campaigns becomes a necessity for media effectiveness. Extended reach, through a multiscreen approach with enhanced targeting and deterministic multiscreen audience reporting and insights, will help candidates and advocacy groups alike reach more voters, establishing the foundation for a successful political campaign.
More information about Spectrum Reach and finding voters is available at https://www.spectrumreach.com/political.
Sources:
(1) Nielsen "The Gauge", February 2024.
(2) Spectrum Reach AM Campaign Data. Date – 2022 FY. O&O & Partner Affiliates. *Includes all campaigns with Streaming TV & Linear. Total Campaigns – 6,765. *Streaming TV Lift - % of new HHs reached. **Results based on median averages, results will vary and not all campaigns will achieve a +33% lift.
(3) MIT-led Study, May 2023.
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The opinions expressed here are the author's views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillage.org/MyersBizNet.