President Biden’s exit from the 2024 U.S. presidential race and Vice President Kamala Harris’ entrance to bid for the top job means voters are evaluating a new set of options. With the swap, a historic influx of fundraising dollars is flowing into campaigns and media spending is way up. How can political advertisers aim to strategically inspire voters before Nov. 5? By investing in Connected TV (CTV).
To break through at this critical moment, marketers can work toward reaching audiences in key states and districts by ramping up their investments in CTV. Many have already moved in this direction — CTV ad spend in the U.S. is forecast to reach $1.3 billion in ’24.¹
Read on to discover why CTV should be at the center of your political ad strategies and how you can use The Trade Desk to help enhance your approach to targeting, safety, and measurement.
The premium video popular vote
During the 2022 midterms, streaming had already risen to prominence, but its audience still lagged behind both cable and broadcast TV. This time around, the tables have turned.
CTV is now reported to be the most popular way to watch TV, commanding 40.3% of all viewing, compared to 20.5% for broadcast and 27.2% for cable.²
And whereas the streaming audience in 2022 largely represented Gen Z and millennial voters, for this election cycle, older voters have narrowed the gap. Sixty-three percent more baby boomer viewers and 45% more Gen X viewers say they have cut the cord in 2023 compared to 2022.³
If we zero in on confirmed voters, a broad spectrum of the electorate has made the shift from linear TV to streaming. For example, nearly three-quarters of voters in battleground states now say they use streaming services.⁴ Additionally, more than half (56%) of voters say they are willing to watch a free ad-supported streaming service, and 43% say they’ve increased streaming time because more of their favorite content is on CTV.⁵
For all the voter reach available through streaming, some campaigns still may be underinvested in this media channel. In the 2022 midterms, campaigns spent six times as much on linear TV ads as they did on CTV — $6.4 billion compared to $1.1 billion.⁶ That discrepancy presents a huge opportunity for political media buyers to aggressively leverage CTV to reach voters in a meaningful way.
You can activate and scale with premium CTV on The Trade Desk. We offer reach to 113 million U.S. households that are streaming across the top platforms.
Success Story
See how political ad agency GMMB helped a presidential campaign win over voters in 15 key swing states during an unprecedented election year.
Advanced targeting and measurement
CTV’s reach is only part of its appeal for candidates. The channel offers some key benefits that surpass what can be found in more traditional video environments, such as targeting and measurement capabilities that are able to inform campaigns more expeditiously and accurately than what’s available in linear TV.
Our platform offers several advanced features specifically geared toward political use cases:
Targeting
Through programmatic ad buying, you can source CTV audiences for your campaign based on a range of factors, including geographic and demographic information. Campaigns can also access data on viewer behavior to help you tailor your ads to segments most likely to be receptive to your message. This precision can help you ensure that your campaign’s message reaches the intended audience effectively and efficiently.
Ad waste reduction
In the months leading up to the 2022 midterms, more than 50% of viewers in battleground states (NV, AZ, WI, MI, GA, PA) say they saw linear TV ads for issues and candidates that they couldn’t even vote on.⁷ Work toward eliminating these inefficiencies and focusing your messages only on desired voters in a place they’re proven to be engaged.
Measurement
Our platform enables you to lean into the measurement metrics that drive better results. This includes integrations with third-party CTV and linear TV platforms that help you learn which of their ads drove donations, engagement, and votes, and among which audiences. In our platform, you can also perform sentiment scoring at the local level, which can show you how ads are resonating in critical states and districts. You can also conduct political brand lift research, capturing additional insights on how well your message resonated.
Policy
Among other guardrails, our political ad policy lays out ground rules designed to prevent hate speech, as well as avoid ad creatives that undermine the legitimacy of any undecided U.S. election or that declare premature victory when results are contested.
Reach voters today
It’s hard to overstate the size of the opportunity for campaigns to engage with voters in CTV. Today, ad-supported streaming channels provide access to huge swaths of the U.S. electorate, from Gen Z users who may be voting for the first time to older audiences who may still be in the consideration phase for candidates and issues.
Political advertisers have an opportunity to work with us to create data-informed campaign strategies that help you reach the right voters with the right message — and create effective campaigns.
Ready to get out the vote on CTV?
- Visit our political advertising hub to learn more.
- Contact us if you’re not yet working with The Trade Desk.
Sources:
1. AdImpact, 2024 Political Spending Projections Report.
2. GlobalWebIndex, USA, Q2 2020 to Q4 2023.
3. YouGov December 2023. GlobalWebIndex, USA, Q2 2020 to Q4 2023.
4. Nielsen, The Gauge.
5. GlobalWebIndex, USA, Q1 2023 to Q4 2023.
6. AdImpact
7. The Trade Desk Intelligence and Morning Consult.