Report: Radio Targets Voters

As the general election heats up, radio can help campaigns and interest groups cut through the clutter and target the specific voters they want to reach. In a new report, the Westwood One Insights team has examined how radio can help both national and local political advertisers, featuring new insights from Nielsen’s Voter Ratings based on Nielsen PPM ratings from 18 markets, combined with Experian Marketing Services’ Simmons National Consumer Study.

The report includes the “political radio format planner” – an exclusive guide for media planners and buyers to reach voters based on radio programming formats. For example, thesecharts illustrate which radio formats are rich sources to target Republican, Democrat, and Independent voters.

Though these formats offer higher concentrations of specific voter segments, news/talk delivers the largest share among all three groups, in large part due to its status as radio’s second most listened-to format. News/talk has a 22 share of Republican voters, a 21 share with independents and a 17 with Democrats.

The report shows how radio:

• Reaches a massive, engaged, diverse audience
• Captures a politically influential audience
• Supplements TV and digital campaigns
• Targets voters by political affiliation rather than just broad demographics