Local CTV is poised to play a key role in the record-breaking 2024 election season.
The 2024 elections are projected to drive the highest political advertising spend in U.S. history, with the latest forecasts exceeding $12 Billion (per eMarketer). While traditional TV is expected to claim the majority of political advertising budgets – a trend in line with previous elections – media buyers sticking only with TV may be missing out on unique opportunities to connect with voters as digital formats continue to revolutionize the advertising landscape.
Specifically, the rapid growth of connected TV (CTV) in recent years has enticed an increasing number of media buyers to adopt the medium as an integral piece of their 2024 strategies. To illustrate, approximately $1.5 Billion is expected to be allocated to CTV this year – representing 500%+ growth from 2020!
With advanced targeting capabilities and the big screen appeal of television, CTV empowers political advertisers to effectively reach and engage voters.
Local as a Linchpin.
Within the expansive CTV ecosystem, one specific area set to play a big role in this year’s political cycle is Local CTV. As a whole, U.S. Local CTV/over-the-top (OTT) ad revenue is projected to grow 53.8 percent in 2024. This rise in Local CTV spend can be attributed to the influx of accessible, high-quality local ad inventory, which enables advertisers of all kinds to effectively engage with hyper-targeted geographic audiences.
For political campaigns, linear TV buying has historically revolved around local environments. As political advertisers lean further into CTV, there is a growing need for comparable methods to engage hyperlocal audiences as a strong complement to traditional advertising strategies.
For savvy political media buyers seeking to reach region- and district-specific viewers this year, there are significant opportunities associated with localized CTV content delivery – and specifically with Local CTV news.
The Value of the Local CTV News Audience.
In prior elections, local news has proven to be an efficient means for advertisers to reach viewers who are politically active and likely to participate in elections. Regardless of political affiliation, Americans place an immense amount of trust and credibility in local news, and rely on it to stay informed of the latest developments within their communities.
While local broadcast and cable TV news certainly remains an effective reach vehicle for engaging geographic audiences, Local CTV news targeting can exponentially expand reach by incorporating cord-cutting or heavy-streaming households. In fact, a study conducted after the 2022 primaries revealed that 51% of frequent voter households reached by streaming were incremental to traditional TV and would not have been reached by TV alone. As CTV viewership continues to rise, media buyers can maximize their reach by implementing a balanced political advertising strategy that includes Local CTV news.
Local CTV News Targeting for Savvy Political Media Buyers.
When engaging with geographic-specific audiences, Local CTV news targeting offers political media buyers significant opportunities to reach key viewer segments and influence voter sentiment. Delivering tailored messages that resonate with distinct geographic voter groups enhances the relevance and timeliness of political ad campaigns.
With the right strategies and tactics, the Local CTV news audience can play a critical role in elevating CTV advertising effectiveness. Here are just a few examples of how:
1) Localized Ad Relevance.
Local news coverage often highlights the socio-economic, cultural, and political dynamics within specific communities. Delivering campaigns across Local CTV news inventory provides political advertisers the opportunity to align their messages with the concerns, issues, and interests of voters within a specific geographic region – whether it be a specific state, market, or ZIP.
Aligning district- and state-specific issue ads with local news coverage enhances the relevance of political ad campaigns, establishing a deeper connection with voters and driving higher levels of engagement among local audiences.
2) Battleground Targeting.
Deploying ad campaigns across Local CTV news inventory is particularly valuable for political media buyers who are targeting battleground states or geographies. Appealing to voters within these regions requires enhanced and precise targeting efforts, with creatives designed to resonate with geo-specific perspectives and priorities.
Through Local CTV news targeting, political advertisers have the ability to deliver customized messages in battleground states that directly address the concerns of voters. This in turn helps maximize the chance of success on election day.
3) Hyper-targeted Audiences.
Hyper-targeting capabilities, inherent in CTV advertising, offer media buyers unique access to detailed behavioral insights and viewership data, which enable precise targeting far beyond what traditional TV can offer.
Advertisers are able to leverage custom data segments that are informed by local news consumption behaviors to achieve privacy-friendly political targeting, reaching audiences among various demos, political affiliations, income brackets, and more.
4) Pre-Curated Programmatic Packages.
Inventory curation has become a key component of any political advertising campaign. Pre-curated packages of politically-allowed CTV supply (that include streamlined creative review) help to power frictionless programmatic execution of political ad campaigns, especially in short execution windows.
Access to pre-curated inventory enables political media buyers to unlock scale and efficiencies on their campaigns, accelerating time-to-delivery and enhancing the impact of their creatives.
Beachfront’s Political Solutions.
Beachfront provides curated, politically-allowed Local CTV news inventory sourced directly from leading news stations, such as Scripps, Hearst, Syncbak, and more. With nearly 100 Billion monthly requests across premium, brand-safe CTV supply, Beachfront’s direct integrations empower political media buyers to reach, influence, and win voters.
If you’re interested in learning more about how Beachfront’s unique solutions are helping media buyers optimize their political CTV advertising strategies, please reach out to us here:
