The 2024 election season is upon us, and political campaigns are gearing up for the intense competition ahead to win votes. In this dynamic and ever-evolving landscape, effective digital political marketing and advertising play a crucial role in reaching and engaging with potential supporters. With this upcoming election cycle projected to be the most expensive one in history, political campaign marketers cannot afford to miss the mark with their campaign messaging and outreach to voters.
Evergreen & Oak spoke with two companies ingrained in the political advertising space and they shared their predictions on the core tenets that will get the most attention in the 2024 election season.
Know Your Constituents and the Issues They Care About
Understanding your target audience is the foundation of any successful political advertising campaign. “The current political landscape is one of extreme divisiveness, and due to that, it’s becoming increasingly hard to bucket people into Democrat, Republican or Independent,” said Dave Otis, Senior Vice President, Independent Agencies U.S., Seedtag.
“Rather, what we are seeing these days is voters being less aligned with a certain party, and more focused on the issues that affect their daily lives,” said Otis. “Digitally, this means moving away from third-party data segments and moving towards a targeting strategy that focuses on what each individual voter is thinking about, reading about and consuming on a daily basis. By identifying what’s contextually relevant to a voter as well as the information which relates to them on a personal level, instead of what their party affiliation says they are interested in. That’s why we are starting to hear discussions around privacy-first, contextual targeting. It’s going to be a big piece of the political puzzle moving forward.”
For political marketers to succeed, they must analyze voter demographics, preferences and concerns to tailor messaging specifically to voters’ needs. Develop a clear, compelling and concise message that reflects a candidate’s values, vision and policy proposals. Keep the message positive and solution-oriented, focusing on how a candidate will address the issues faced by the electorate. It is also critical to continuously monitor the performance of political marketing efforts. Keep a close eye on engagement metrics, feedback from voters and the overall sentiment surrounding a candidate. Be willing to adapt and adjust strategies as needed to stay relevant and effective.
Capture Voters’ Attention: The Power of Digital Media
Embracing an array of digital tools such as social media, search engines and email marketing has proven indispensable for expanding the reach of political campaigns. According to a digital political advertising data report done by Basis Technologies, political advertisers spent over $130 million in ads across display, video, native, search and social media. By engaging with voters online, promptly addressing their inquiries and sharing valuable content, political candidates can establish a robust online presence that resonates with a wider audience.
Video content is central to this digital transformation. Crafted to be engaging and shareable, videos have risen to prominence as a dominant medium of content consumption. Through video content, campaigns effectively showcase their candidate’s personality, accomplishments and policy proposals. By weaving in storytelling techniques, political ads forge emotional connections with voters, elevating the impact of their message.
As we delve into the upcoming 2024 election cycle, a notable transformation is evident in the realm of connected TV (CTV). Based on data from local and national political races, Basis Technologies found that direct media buying on CTV rose to a 35% share of purchase tactics, increasing programmatic ad impressions and spending on CTV and streaming devices by over 60%. Political campaign advertisers are likely to continue to prioritize video advertising, especially with more ad spend being allocated toward CTV in 2024.
Jessica Ellis, Senior Specialist, Political Client Partner at VDX.tv, underscores this shift, revealing that political ad spending on streaming platforms is anticipated to skyrocket by 2024. “We’re seeing a significant shift in CTV budgets,” Ellis said. “Political ad spending on streaming is expected to exceed $1 billion by 2024.”
This shift is driven by the realization that millions of cord-cutters—individuals who have abandoned traditional cable—remain inaccessible through linear television advertising. The appeal of CTV lies not only in its expanded reach but also in its unprecedented targeting capabilities.
Commenting on CTV’s efficacy as a powerful medium for engaging audiences, Ellis points out the distinctive benefits: “Voters watching linear are disproportionately older and white. So even if you were to place your ads on CTV with no thought to targeting, you would reach a more diverse audience. But the real beauty of CTV is that you can target. You can get very specific with the personas you are looking to reach and serve them creative that is most relevant. Best of all – you can track it in far more detail than traditional TV. It’s also more cost-effective. With CTV, you don’t have to pay to reach people who are not in your district simply because they live within the ‘media market’ boundaries.”
In navigating the nuanced terrain of CTV for the 2024 election, campaigns must tread carefully to avoid pitfalls. “The majority of TV in America is streamed,” Ellis stated. “So while these budgets are shifting, they are not shifting fast enough. Corporations are moving their marketing budgets much faster. Political candidates and organizations need to treat CTV as THE priority – not as a nice to have.”
Otis added, “Podcasts have also ramped up as an intimate, convenient medium for reaching millions of engaged listeners. Candidates’ campaigns will consider sponsoring relevant podcasts that they feel align with their audience. This type of format gives candidates direct access to the public, giving them the ability to communicate their ideas without having to worry about being filtered or edited to fit the narrative of whichever platform’s agenda is being pushed.”
The power of video, podcasts and CTV lies not only in its expansive reach to cord-cutting audiences but also in its capacity for precise targeting and comprehensive analytics. By harnessing the potential of these digital platforms, campaigns can effectively engage voters, forge emotional connections, and amplify their messages, ultimately shaping the political discourse of the future.
