Partner Article

Online political advertising a key influence alongside TV

Online political advertising is quickly being established as a key influence that complements TV advertising with respondents of all age groups, a new survey, released following Ted Cruz’s victory in the Iowa caucus, has found. Conducted by YuMe, Inc., (NYSE:YUME), the global audience technology company powered by data-driven insights and multi-screen expertise, the survey questioned 620 U.S. voters on their opinion of both online and offline advertising methods. While respondents felt there were too many political ads as a whole, they still responded favourably to online advertising. In particular, the millennial generation ranks online advertising as influential more frequently than other demographics.

“In this very political season politicians are hungrier than ever to figure out how to effectively deliver their messages to an increasingly fragmented electorate,” said Paul Neto, Director of Research at YuMe. “What we found is that those running for office need to approach their digital options in a thoughtful and highly targeted way, and if they don’t they’re likely to miss out on potentially game-changing opportunities.”

Key findings of the study include:

• Want to get out the vote? Get online. Across all age groups, offline contact was considered the least appealing method of learning about a candidate. Social media is used as a strong medium for education and sharing of political issues and to research candidates.
• Where your ad runs can be just as important as the message. Respondents found certain networks more trustworthy than others. Despite the popularity of certain networks, a candidate’s ad on that network does not necessarily equate with the voter’s belief in that candidate.
• Demographics matter when it comes to influence. The research found that ads can influence new voters in specific demographics. Males and younger demographics changed their mind positively on a candidate because of an ad more often than the baseline, while 42% of respondents age 25-34 reported having positively changed their minds about a candidate because of an ad in the past. Meanwhile older audiences, people between the ages of 45 and 53, were least likely to change their mind about a candidate because of an ad.
• Candidate websites are underutilised marketing tools. 46% of respondents had not visited a candidate’s website. Political marketers should focus on how they can drive more traffic to these sites. Only 29% of respondents felt that the candidate’s website was a positive experience and only 21% were satisfied with the site’s donation experience.

“The conventional wisdom in political advertising has always been that television is the name of the game,” said Bryson Smith, Vice President, Political, Advocacy and Government Affairs at YuMe. “What this research shows, and what we see on the campaign trail, is that new digital methods add increased effectiveness when compared to other forms of political advertising.”

For more information visit, http://www.yume.com/insights/video-advertising-research.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by YuMe .