With soaring viewership growth and new programmatic advancements, streaming TV has become a critical investment for political marketers ahead of the 2024 election. The streaming market has significantly matured since the last election cycle and today requires a carefully crafted and precise strategy to effectively sway voters.
Amid this unprecedented presidential race, we hosted a webinar to explore the evolving landscape of political advertising in streaming TV. Joined by industry leaders Sarah Ballarini, manager of products and partnerships at DSPolitical, Dave Clark, director of business development at The Trade Desk, Chris Garcia, director of programmatic sales at The E.W. Scripps Company, and Billy McBeath, digital director and senior advisor for the Senate Leadership Fund, we discussed key trends and how political marketers can maximize their campaigns.
Watch the full recording below or keep reading for highlights from our conversation.
1. Streaming TV is a strategic campaign component
This election cycle marks the first where buyers are considering streaming TV in a strategic, non-siloed way. As the widespread move from linear TV to streaming platforms continues and more inventory becomes available, buyers recognize streaming is the best way to get their ads in front of desired audiences. Programmatic advancements in recent years provide buyers with more control and precision in how they reach their audiences.
The Trade Desk’s Dave Clark called out how these advancements allow buyers to reach their broad base at scale as well as the small yet pivotal, persuadable audience in battleground states.
“The unreachable element of the electorate is a piece that I think DSPs are uniquely positioned to speak to, because a lot of these individuals do tend to skew younger. They probably don’t consume linear media the same way as previous generations at that same age… the DSP presents the best of both worlds—it gives you scale and targeting.”
Dave Clark, director of business development, The Trade Desk
The Senate Leadership Fund’s Billy McBeath echoed this sentiment, stating, “We’ve talked about it for over 10 years. The shift is here, we’ve crossed the Rubicon, and now we just need to execute on it.”
2. Data-driven approaches fuel stronger results in political advertising
Data integration has always been a cornerstone of effective political advertising, and now programmatic extends that to streaming TV. Leveraging sophisticated data and targeting techniques, marketers can craft highly personalized messages that resonate with specific voter segments. This approach not only enhances engagement but also maximizes campaign efficiency, allowing marketers to focus on the narrow margin of persuadable voters that exist.
Sarah Ballarini of DSPolitical highlighted the significance of audience targeting and data partnerships in reaching the desired audiences.
“We have a bunch of data partners. One of them is Catalyst, and they have really great data on persuadable voters, like, where are they? How can we reach them? We pair that list with media consumption habits and when we pair those together, we’re able to normalize the frequency of ads that we send to people.”
Sarah Ballarini, manager of products and partnerships, DSPolitical
Discussing how to prepare for election day, Ballarini shared, “We think about our data stack like a puzzle. How can we think about synergies that these partners have? When you have as many onboarding and DSP partners as we do, you’re able to make really dynamic decisions about where to buy.”
3. The need is growing for transparency in programmatic
Transparency in political advertising is essential for buyers to make informed decisions and effectively reach their campaign goals. Buyers are looking for the same levels of transparency in streaming TV as they’ve long been accustomed to in linear.
From publishers passing more data and signals to DSPs and SSPs providing transparency reports, improving visibility into where ads are being served will better inform buyers on how to best leverage streaming TV in the future, and do so with confidence. Chris Garcia of The E.W. Scripps Company spoke about the importance of working with trusted SSPs for overall quality assurance of ad placements.
“We understand the need for transparency and that it’s routed through our trusted partners like Index, so that they are validating that our inventory is premium, and there’s quality and assurances there.”
Chris Garcia, director of programmatic sales – political, E.W. Scripps
4. Supply path optimization is essential for quality in streaming TV
Quality control in streaming TV has advanced since the last election cycle, and it’s top of mind for buyers this year. Supply chain optimization (SPO) is crucial for accessing quality inventory and ensuring campaign effectiveness. A focused approach to SPO and forming trusted partnerships allows for more controlled, quality, and effective ad placements.
Marketers need to know what they’re buying and who they’re reaching, and that they’re able to scale across all types of viewers.
“Everything starts with the ability to forecast a lot of scale. We know that we’re going to need to scale big in October. And then it’s quality—what we are looking for is the ability to serve on our data. We do a ton of work to figure out who we’re looking at targeting for the election, and how does that flow from the SSP side to the DSP side, to the network.”
Billy McBeath, digital director and senior advisor, Senate Leadership Fund
Clark also emphasized quality, sharing, “If I had to pick a theme for the 2024 cycle in programmatic, it’s the rise of content quality into the equation.”
Take advantage of the streaming opportunity in 2024
As marketers finalize campaign plans for the 2024 election, the importance of embracing streaming TV, utilizing data-driven strategies, and ensuring quality and transparency cannot be overstated. These elements will define successful campaigns that resonate with voters and drive them to action in this new era of political advertising.
Discover more about how you can maximize the impact of your political advertising campaigns, or get in touch to learn more about working with Index Exchange
