According to freshly published industry data, the American people are taking a pass on live television in favor of streaming content on their smartphones or tablets.
And political candidates and incumbents may want to take note of this trend. Based on new research findings, campaigns must now embrace new types of advertising to reach the voting public. And, you guessed it, we’re talking about the mobile screen.
The survey, conducted for Google, the GOP digital outfit Targeted Victory and the Democratic digital group Well & Lighthouse by the Republican firm Public Opinion Strategies and the Democratic consultancy Global Strategy Group, indicate that reaching key voters and key demographics will require campaigns to think beyond the typical 30-second live TV ad.
“This is the point where you can no longer say people aren’t watching video online,” Targeted Victory co-founder Zac Moffatt tells Politico. “Campaigns have to write budgets that reflect how people are watching video.”
The trend toward less traditional video viewing platforms is in large part due to the rapidly increasing number of voters who own smartphones and tablets. Two-thirds of those surveyed own smartphones, an increase from 48 percent in 2012. Fifty-four percent said they own tablets, up from 32 percent in 2012.
To learn more, check out the complete and utterluy fascinating report from Targeted Victory here.