New Study By GumGum Finds That 57% of Americans Are More Willing to Pay Attention to Political Ads When They Are Immersed in the Content They Are Consuming

GumGum, a contextual-first, global digital advertising platform, has released the results of a consumer survey aimed at understanding American receptivity towards political advertising in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.

The survey, conducted by The Harris Poll, included responses from a diverse cross-section of Americans and explored various aspects of digital political advertising. Technology and digital environments continue to evolve at a rapid pace and the survey results shed light on changing preferences and expectations for political advertising. The findings uncover important insights for political advertisers in understanding how to reach potential voters across generations, races, and regions.

“Political advertisers have a unique opportunity to refresh their strategies for the 2024 elections. To truly capture the mindset of the electorate this research shows that aligning advertisers with content or finding new immersive ways to make the ad feel more authentic and relatable can have a huge impact on people paying attention to those ads, especially when it comes to younger voters,” said GumGum CEO, Phil Schraeder.

Key Survey Results and Takeaways for Political Advertisers:

Immersive Ads Will Drive Attention, Especially with Younger Generations:

• Over half of respondents (57%) expressed their willingness to pay more attention to political ads if they were better integrated and more immersive in the content they consume. This finding highlights the potential for innovation in ad creative and delivery. 
• The survey reveals significant generational differences, with 78% of the 18-34 age group expressing more willingness to receive politically aligned or immersive ads compared to just 37% of the 65+ age group. Younger consumers show more willingness for ad experimentation, significantly more so than older generations. 

Broadcast and Cable TV is the Preferred Way to Receive Political Ads:  

• A noteworthy 46% of Americans expressed their preference for cable TV and broadcast as the primary platform for receiving political ads. These traditional mediums remain influential in capturing the attention of potential voters.

Alignment with Content Can Drive Attention: 

• A substantial 39% of respondents indicated a preference for political ads that align with the political or social issues they are currently reading about or watching. This data underscores the importance of contextual relevance in political advertising.

A One Size All Approach Won’t Work: 

• Racial demographics play a significant role in political ad receptivity. White respondents, at 52%, indicated they are more willing to receive contextually aligned or immersive political ads, while 26% of Hispanic and 26% of Black respondents expressed similar sentiments. These findings underscore the need for genuine and authentic multicultural political advertising strategies.

• Hispanic respondents demonstrated a strong preference for political ads on social media platforms at 48%, whereas White respondents leaned towards cable TV/broadcast at 47%. Meanwhile, 30% of Black respondents preferred political ads on streaming services, compared to only 15% of White respondents.

“Environments like gaming and CTV are really ripe for innovation and its clear consumer preferences are evolving beyond traditional ways of advertising,” continued Schraeder. “Political campaigns need to meet people where they are at and in order to do that they need to keep up with innovation and experimentation to reach potential voters in meaningful and actionable ways.” 

These findings emphasize the dynamic nature of political advertising receptivity in a rapidly evolving digital and technology landscape. The results highlight an opportunity for political campaigns to consider contextual targeting across digital environments and immersive and innovative campaigns. In addition, the results highlight the need to consider the nuances of voter identity as it relates to age, region, and race when reaching potential voters through digital advertising. 

For more information, please reach out to pr@gumgum.com.