Help Your Station Get Its Share of Political Ad $

Millions of dollars are spent on political advertising, with a huge portion going to TV. For example, Obama and Romney spent $896 million on TV advertising for the 2012 presidential campaign, and that’s only after Rick Santorum dropped out of the Republican primaries in April (The Washington Post, “Mad Monday: TV ads in the 2012 presidential campaign”).

How can Radio increase their share of that pie?

Here are two compelling reasons why TV is not as viable of a medium for advertising as it used to be.

Fragmentation: Fragmentation of television audiences started with cable and the ever-multiplying number of specialized cable channels. Fast forward a few decades and now people can receive video content on computers, tablets, and smartphones. In a new study released by political strategists Julie Hootkin and Robert Blizzard, they assert that “the country has reached ‘a tipping point’ in the competition for viewers between traditional live television and other forms of viewing content.”

Recorded Viewing: The second issue TV is facing is the increase in recorded viewing. Nearly half (47%) of U.S. homes now have DVRs (Leichtman Research Group, 2013). That means delayed viewing and, more importantly, the ability to skip commercials. According to Hootkin and Blizzard’s study, recorded programming ranks second behind live TV as the primary source for watching video content – and of those watching recorded programming, “a majority said they skip 100 percent of the ads when they watch.”

Radio’s still got the reach and targetability that it’s always had. Now another of Radio’s advantages is coming to the forefront – listening in real time, all the time.

We’d like to talk to you or your sales manager about creating a compelling presentation that uses your local-market data to persuade political advertisers that Radio – and your properties – are a great choice for their message. Simply fill out the form below and we’ll be in touch!