Radio should adopt disco singer Gloria Gaynor’s 1979 Billboard No. 1 “I will survive” as its theme song considering its surprising ability to remain among the top outlets for politicians to reach voters, according to new polling.
The research from Katz Radio Group found that 95 percent of Democrats and Republicans, and 96 percent of independents, listen to radio, way more than watch CNN, Fox or MSNBC.
Working with the media charting company Nielsen for its “The Local Vote 2016” polls, Katz surveyed voters in nine states and found that radio is No. 1 in reaching all primary-goers across all political affiliations, somewhat surprising considering the media hype over the importance of social media tools like Twitter and Facebook.
What’s more, in many primary states, the survey found that radio is “a good way for political candidates to reach them,” muting talk in some corners that radio had lost its edge.
The surveys are likely to be important to political campaigns because they break down which type of radio formats different voters are listening too, and also show that the reach isn’t owned by stations offering up conservative talk shows.
“The Katz ‘Local Vote’ initiative is designed to unearth valuable in time insights to help political advertisers effectively use media to engage voters during a crucial decision making time,” said Stacey Schulman, executive vice president of strategy, analytics and research for Katz, which represents 3,000 radio and 700 TV stations. “As we look deeper at voter behaviors across the media spectrum, radio continues to stand out as a cost efficient, targetable medium for effective campaign advertising.”
Their most recent survey was of Wisconsin voters, who are set to vote next Tuesday. Among the findings provided to Secrets:
— Nearly 4 out of 10 eligible Wisconsin voters (38%) are undecided about their choice of candidate or whether they will go to the polls. This large share of the electorate (called the “Opportunity Vote”) is primed for political messaging.
— Early polling in Wisconsin shows Bernie Sanders with a modest lead over Hillary Clinton (41% vs. 32%), but 27% of Democratic primary-goers are still undecided on whom to cast a ballot for. Meanwhile, the Republican race is hotly contested with no clear front-runner. Among Wisconsin Republican primary-goers, a whopping 41% are still undecided on whom they are voting for.
— Nearly every Opportunity Voter in Wisconsin listens to Radio (94%), a greater percentage than Broadcast TV (91%), Cable TV (83%) and Mobile Internet (58%).
— 7 out of 10 Opportunity Voters believe Radio advertising is a good way for political candidates to connect with them.
The report then suggests where voters for the candidates can be reached via radio, even providing the stations that are the best target.
In Milwaukee, for example, the report finds that “ultra conservatives” prefer “adult contemporary” stations while “on the fence liberals” prefer “urban” stations.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]
