As the 2024 general election nears, Vice President Kamala Harris maintains a narrow national polling lead. Yet, Democrats know well that the Electoral College can transform even a steady polling advantage into a tense, down-to-the-wire contest. This election will likely be no different.
Every fraction of a percentage point will matter, especially in the battleground states that will decide the presidency. To secure victory, Democrats must leverage every available tool and innovate new strategies to reach and persuade voters.
CTV’s Promise—and Overcoming Its Challenges
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Connected TV (CTV) has rapidly evolved from a niche advertising channel into a cornerstone of modern political campaigns. After all, what campaign wouldn’t want voter-targeted access to the largest and most influential screen in the home? However, while CTV has always offered immense potential, it hasn’t matched the scale or precision of other digital channels. Historically, CTV’s broader targeting capabilities made it challenging to reach specific voters with the same accuracy as platforms like digital display or social media. Additionally, CTV lacked the scale needed for campaigns to repeatedly deliver their messages to the right voters, leading to wasted ad dollars and missed opportunities.
But this landscape is changing rapidly. Advances in technology are closing the gap, making CTV an even more powerful tool for campaigns willing to seize it. A significant advancement comes from DSPolitical’s pioneering partnership with Beeswax, which unlocks targeting capabilities by matching voter file data to sophisticated household-level identifiers via the FreeWheel Identity Network. This breakthrough significantly enhances the accuracy and scale of voter-targeted CTV ads, ensuring they reach the right voters at the right time with the right message. In short, DSPolitical is overcoming previous limitations, giving Democrats a critical edge as November approaches.
Why CTV Should Be Central to Democratic Campaigns
Enhanced voter targeting is especially crucial for Democrats due to the party’s diverse electorate, which requires nuanced, tailored outreach. With voters motivated by a wide range of issues—from healthcare and climate change to grocery prices and abortion access—it’s vital for campaigns to deliver precise messaging that resonates with each voter segment. By leveraging advanced voter targeting, especially on CTV, Democrats can ensure they inspire and mobilize their audience segments to vote. This precision is key to winning the complex support needed to secure victory in battleground states where races could be decided by a fraction of a point.
CTV ads are generally non-skippable and delivered within trusted content environments, resulting in higher engagement rates. Viewers are more likely to remember a 15 or 30-second ad they can’t skip, especially when it’s shown on the largest screen in their home. For Democrats, this means a greater opportunity to connect with voters and reinforce critical messages in the final stretch of the campaign. While linear TV ads are inexpensive and have broad reach, they lack precision. With scalable and precise CTV buys now available, particularly with the ability to match voter file data to household-level identifiers, campaigns have a powerful tool to better engage the electorate—if they ask the right questions.
Key Questions for Campaigns to Consider
Before incorporating CTV into their campaigns, advertisers need to address a few crucial questions to ensure every ad dollar is maximized. Those who don’t understand the CTV landscape risk being taken advantage of by vendors who haven’t adopted the latest targeting technology. Here are some questions campaigns should be asking:
- Is your campaign leveraging the latest advancements in CTV targeting? Ensure your vendors are using the most up-to-date tools and partnerships to maximize targeting accuracy and scalability. How are they working with supply partners to ensure the right signals are available to target against? Which identity graphs do they consider best? If they sound like they’re tap dancing around specifics for either of these questions, it is because they are.
- How will CTV complement your overall media strategy? CTV should not be siloed, but instead integrated into a holistic digital and traditional media plan, creating a cohesive omni-channel voter outreach strategy. Consumers have come to expect a degree of personalization and relevance from digital ads; voters are no different.
- Are you prepared to monitor and optimize in real-time? CTV campaigns, like all digital campaigns, require constant monitoring and adjustment to ensure high performance. Make sure your consultants provide real-time analytics so you can make data-driven adjustments on the fly, especially in a frenetic election cycle offering new twists and turns almost daily.
Make CTV Central to Your Winning Strategy
As Democrats head into the final stretch of this election, leveraging CTV’s advanced targeting capabilities isn’t just an option—it’s a necessity. The stakes couldn’t be higher, and the margins couldn’t be thinner. Every vote counts, and every ad must land with precision. By integrating the latest voter-optimized CTV technology—like DSPolitical’s new partnership with Beeswax—Democrats can ensure their messages resonate with the right voters at the right time, potentially tipping the scales in critical races. However, to unlock CTV’s full potential, campaigns must start by asking the right questions of their vendors to ensure their CTV buys have the scale and reach they need to win.
