It’s been well documented by groups such as the TVB that there’s no better outlet for political advertising than broadcast television. But, would a mix of spots that incorporates streaming TV be even more impactful for a candidate?
A new research study says yes.
The data come from Effectv, and it highlights the increased importance of streaming advertising for political advertisers as a complement to traditional TV.
The key word is “complement,” as the research reveals data insights collected from nearly 20 million impressions. The key conclusion: political advertisers who are still relying solely on TV – or, in particular, only news – are likely to be missing out on reaching voters.
“Advertisers will see the most success … by optimizing their media plans across both TV and streaming to achieve the greatest reach,” the study concludes.
These insights, spanning over 200 political advertising campaigns in the first half of 2022 during the primaries, uncover a formula that strikes a balance between TV and streaming advertising for maximized reach.
Effectv’s recommendation? Political advertisers in particular should allocate around 10%-20% of their TV investment to ad-supported streaming, with the remaining investment to traditional TV.
While Effectv suggests that general advertisers attribute 20-30% of their total video investment to streaming, the recommendation is actually slightly lower when reaching likely voters, who, according to Comcast’s aggregated viewership data, are likely to spend more time with traditional TV.
As Dan Sinagoga, head of political sales at Effectv, believes, “With midterms around the corner, advertisers need to pinpoint where they can optimize their budgets – across all mediums – and divide funding accordingly. 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.”
According to the study, in the 2022 primaries, 9% of frequent voters were reached through streaming only, 10% through TV and streaming combined, and 81% through TV only. This shows that traditional TV continues to be the foundation for political advertisers to reach voters. The research showed that by leaning into linear TV, advertisers can capture much of their desired audiences – but infusing streaming into a TV-centric media plan can exponentially extend reach. It shows that 51% of frequent voter households reached by streaming were incremental to traditional TV and would not have been reached
by TV alone.
Effectv’s research also highlights the value of streaming to reach those in “light news viewing” households, finding that streaming impressions were 1.7x more likely to be seen within “light news viewing” households compared to traditional TV (18% versus 11%).
“TV viewership is changing before our eyes, and political advertisers need to adjust to that new reality,” Sinagoga said. “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 multiscreen approach, using streaming as a strong complement to linear TV.”
The research concludes that traditional TV and streaming work better together to deliver audiences.
“Although TV continues to be foundational to media plans, streaming is becoming an increasingly critical element in political advertising, providing valuable incremental audiences and extending reach to households of likely voters,” Effectv concludes.
Effectv is the advertising sales division of Comcast Cable. Headquartered in New
York with offices throughout the country, Effectv has a presence in 66 markets with nearly 35 million owned and represented subscribers.
