Like other advertisers, political campaigns should spend a portion of their budgets on streaming, a new study by Comcast Advertising’s Effectv unit recommends.
While many studies suggest the optimal allocation for product advertisers is about 40% streaming, Effectv says that with political spending, 10% to 20% is the right level. (Effectv says general advertisers should be spending 20% to 30% on streaming.)
Historically, political candidates have heavied up on local broadcast, but Effectv’s study found that more than half of households in the “frequent voter” category reached by streaming were incremental to those reached with traditional TV, and that 9% of frequent voters could only be reached through streaming.
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“With midterms around the corner, advertisers need to pinpoint where they can optimize their budgets — across all mediums — and divide funding accordingly,” Effectv head of political sales Dan Sinagoga said. “Balance is needed now more than ever, with political advertising spend set to hit a record of $9 billion this season, so it’s critical that advertisers plan and optimize campaigns holistically across all screens to reach audiences regardless of how they are consuming TV content.”
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Streaming seems to be especially effective at reaching people who are in “light news-viewing” households, Effectv found.
In order to reach the broadcast possible spectrum of voters, Effectv said TV and streaming work better together. And even though traditional TV remains a foundation for most political campaigns, streaming is increasingly important in helping to reach more likely voters.
“TV viewership is changing before our eyes, and political advertisers need to adjust to that new reality,” Sinagoga added. “Relying on ‘old standbys’ like local news is not enough anymore. Streaming is a critical component to political advertising, and we’re seeing greater success among advertisers who take a multi-screen approach, using streaming as a strong complement to linear TV.” ■
