As US voters go to the polls, this has been the first truly digital election. Daniella Cross, UK marketing manager at Say Media, looks into political advertising in the US, revealing that much of the TV advertising has been missed, as the electorate turn to streaming media on their PCs and mobiles to get their political fix.
There are just hours to go until the polling booths close in the 2012 US Presidential election, and if the pundits are to be believed, it’s going to be a close call. With both candidates spending a combined total of more than $2.4 billion on election campaigns, the US Presidential election is one of the most expensive in history.
To a UK spectator, US political advertising can seem quite alien; most notably the spiteful and tit-for-tat TV campaigns which appear in nearly every commercial break on American television. Fans of the West Wing will remember how important these TV ads were to Josh Lyman and his team. But the West Wing comes from the early days of the internet and Say Media’s new “Off the Grid” research shows that most political broadcast advertising is not seen.
Voters are watching more video through digital streaming and mobile devices, according to Say’s second annual research study on voters going “Off the Grid,” which analyses the shift in media consumption habits and how it is impacting political advertising.
The results found that a greater number of likely voters are not watching live TV and are using new methods to consume media, ranging from streaming video services to tablet and smartphone devices that make it easy to skip commercials. This shift has profound implications for political advertisers who need to reach the off the grid audience to make the difference between winning and losing in this year’s election cycle.
More video content is streaming
In 2012, 42% of Americans likely to vote aren’t using live TV as their primary source of video content. Nearly half the total time of 20 hours in a week watching video is not on live TV – devices like Apple TV, Roku and video game consoles are being used a half hour more than last year to access video content.
Mobile-minded voters
Overall smartphone ownership is on the rise – nearly half of likely voters own a smartphone. In particular, Florida and Ohio, smartphone ownership has increased drastically, with 53% and 41% owning a smartphone in 2012, up 15% and 13% from last year respectively.
Taking tablets
One third of voters own a tablet, providing a new channel for political campaigns to reach potential voters. Both Florida and Ohio are also seeing similar patterns reflected in their individual states, with about a third of likely voters owning tablets.
The decline of live-TV viewing
Nearly a quarter of likely voters plan to switch to digital streaming, compared to traditional providers, in one to two years. This is primarily for cost-cutting reasons, as the price of cable packages continues to rise.
Skip that ad!
Compared with last year’s results, while many voters still watch live TV, 32% of voters are skipping commercials entirely when watching recorded TV from a DVR.
“The rise of streaming digital content and the adoption of mobile devices has led to the transformation of how we are consuming media,” said David Tokheim, SVP Media Solutions, Say Media. “With more finding that their laptops, smartphones and tablets are more convenient ways to consume content, advertisers, especially political, need to adapt and adjust their strategies to ensure they are reaching key voters in upcoming elections. Say has been able to identify and reach this ‘Off The Grid’ audience, with an average of 21 seconds of undivided attention, something that has become challenging across digital platforms.”
More than half of likely voters have a smartphone and one third owns a tablet – these devices are changing how they consume content. These new channels and mediums are changing media consumption behaviour across the US, and offering a new opportunity for political campaigns to reach likely voters in new ways.
“Politics is a zero sum game and choosing to ignore such a large group of voters could prove fatal,” said Michael Beach of Targeted Victory.
“Like candidates who speak to voters where they live and work, those campaigns that focus their advertisements and marketing campaigns at voters where they ‘live’ in media — online, through their mobile and streaming devices, will see their investment pay dividends,” said Thomas Eldon, SEA Polling.
In terms of consumption, likely voters in both states have seen a significant change in how they are watching video content; of voters in Florida, 52% have watched video via Internet and 22% have watched through streaming in the past week, an increase from 44% and 10% last year respectively. Ohio voters are also streaming more video over the Internet, with 42% watching video on a laptop or PC in a week, a 5% increase from last year. In order to engage these key voters, political advertisers need to address new strategies across these platforms that could impact the outcome of the election.
By Daniella Cross
UK marketing manager
Say Media
For more information, visit: www.saymedia.com/research
