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Political advertising has advanced significantly in recent decades. Historically, campaigns had limited options for where they could advertise, and those channels had limited inventory. Political campaigns primarily relied on radio, print, and linear TV to reach voters, using mass marketing strategies to appeal broadly to unspecified audiences. These mediums had limited targeting capabilities and provided few data insights. However, this has all changed thanks to the rise of technology and changing media consumption habits.
With the advent of the internet and the emergence of various digital channels, political campaigns now have more inventory and options for getting their message out there, including connected TV (CTV) —a subset of advanced TV that has become a predominant channel for digital ad spend. CTV is the fastest-growing medium for political ads, with the upcoming 2024 election expected to see $1.5 billion in CTV marketing ad spend (nearly half of all political digital advertising dollars!). CTV’s share of political ad spending is set to jump from 2.7% in 2020 to 12.8% this year. The Harris campaign is leading the charge, allocating $200 million for digital ads, much of which will go to streaming platforms.
CTV advertising promises to be an effective method for political campaigns trying to reach voters with personalized content in 2024. Let’s look at CTV political ads a little closer and overview the implications for your political campaign.
The growth of CTV in political advertising
CTV has become central to political ad strategies in helping campaigns gain exposure through targeted, personalized ad experiences to specific audience segments based on demographics, behaviors, and interests. With CTV advertising, political campaigns have become more adaptable to changing viewer preferences and can ensure their messages resonate with diverse audiences across digital platforms. This strategy represents a critical opportunity for political campaigns to tap into the growing viewership of streaming and adjust their marketing plans to meet voters where they spend their time.
Although traditional broadcast TV remains at the forefront of political advertising, recent increases in CTV political ad spending in 2024 reflect shifting media consumption preferences toward streaming services. Today, the average American adult spends almost 2 hours per day on CTV devices. It’s worth noting that CTV has the most significant audience share with Millennials, which makes CTV an especially worthy investment for targeting the younger generations whose voting habits aren’t as established yet.
2024 political ad spending
Compared to the previous U.S. presidential election year in 2020, campaigns and interest groups are expected to increase their political ad spending promoting causes and candidates by almost a third in 2024, totaling approximately $12.32 billion, according to Reuters. This is said to encompass all advertising for federal, state, and local politics, including lobbying and election activities.
While traditional media still dominates political ad spending, digital platforms are growing, with 45% of digital ad spending projected to be allocated to CTV for its refined targeting capabilities and increased inventory in this election cycle. For reference, only 19% of digital political ad spend went to CTV in 2020.
While the presidential election tends to garner the most attention among voters, it’s essential to note that political ad spending goes well beyond the big race; over 500 seats are up for election in 2024. Down-ballot races and issues in state and local elections will significantly impact where ad dollars are allocated.
Experian’s relevant ballot initiative audiences
If you’re looking to reach voters based on their attitudes and behaviors around crucial ballot measures, Experian offers over 240 politically relevant audiences that can help. Our consumer behavior and interest audiences can fine-tune your targeting for local and national ballot initiatives if, for example, you were targeting military families who favor initiatives supporting veterans or households with children interested in supporting school funding. This precise targeting ensures your political ads reach the most receptive audiences and maximizes the impact of your ad spend.
Third-party cookie deprecation and CTV
The phase-out of third-party cookies has created a challenge for political campaigns relying on digital advertising strategies. In the past, political advertisers have used cookies to track a user’s web activity to understand their browsing behaviors across sites and create detailed profiles for targeting purposes. However, due to recent changes in online privacy regulations, third-party cookies are going away.
Political advertisers have recognized the need for innovation and are exploring new avenues for effectively reaching target audiences without third-party cookies. CTV has arisen as a promising solution, as it doesn’t rely on these cookies to paint a picture of audiences and offers an alternative for precise, privacy-compliant targeting and ad spend optimization. CTV publishers tend to know quite a bit about audiences, including their viewing habits, location, preferred CTV devices, and more —and utilizing this information can give your campaign deeper, more accurate data without invading user privacy.
Benefits of CTV over traditional TV advertising for political campaigns
CTV political ads are a great way to familiarize a candidate’s core audiences with their message and engage them with the campaign. Here are some specific ways a political campaign can benefit from CTV in its advertising strategies.
Broadened access to data
Traditional broadcast and cable TV are a means of one-way communication. This means viewers consume broadcasted content without direct interaction or a feedback loop for tracking engagement and behavior data.
CTV solves the limitations of traditional TV by offering access to more data than linear TV using technology and internet connectivity to gather real-time insights. CTV data on audience interactions, preferences, demographics, behaviors, location, income, and more enable precise targeting and tailored messaging for more impactful campaigns. Furthermore, digital infrastructure enables CTV devices to track clicks, ad impressions, and conversions, which marketers can use to understand interests, viewing habits, and audience demographics more effectively. To sum it up, CTV broadens the scope of data available for political campaigns to refine their targeting.
Targeted, personalized ad experiences
With traditional TV advertising, marketers have historically had to rely on mass marketing strategies, broadcasting ads to a general audience and hoping to reach the right demographic segments. This imprecise approach limits a marketer’s control over who sees their ads and wastes time and money.
In contrast, CTV platforms can collect abundant data on viewer behavior, preferences, and demographics, helping advertisers precisely target audiences and reach groups most likely to benefit from the ads. With CTV, advertisers can segment audiences based on gender, age, interests, location, and past viewing behavior. This level of granularity enables them to customize their messages to resonate with specific people and increase the relevance and effectiveness of their political ad campaigns. By delivering ads to the right groups of people at the right time, CTV helps advertisers maximize campaign impact and drive better results.
It’s worth noting that streaming viewership is beginning to change. Although younger generations have engaged the most with CTV, there is research to show that older generations are starting to help fuel its continued growth. Gen X and Baby Boomers have begun to embrace streaming and seek out ad-supported services to ad-free alternatives. These gradual shifts in behavior highlight the importance of understanding streaming generations to reach target audiences effectively.
Real-time ad campaign optimization
While traditional TV relies on fixed ad placements, CTV offers programmatic buying, which refers to buying and selling ad placements on CTV through automated technology. Programmatic CTV advertising is highly data-driven, which gives advertisers flexibility in their messaging strategies, helps them refine their targeting, and deliver relevant ads to the right people at the right time. With real-time analytics, campaigns can monitor ad performance, adapt to changing circumstances, and make data-driven decisions to maximize advertising impact and budget efficiency leading up to the election.
Challenges and considerations for advertisers
Despite how widely beneficial CTV advertising can be for political campaigns, marketers also need to be aware of its limitations.
Navigating ad fraud
Ad fraud is a major problem for unsuspecting advertisers. CTV ad fraud involves fake CTV devices or bots mimicking viewership and cheating marketers into paying for unviewed or non-existent ad placements. According to DoubleVerify’s Global Insights, CTV bot fraud increased nearly 70% in 2022 compared to the previous year, with CTV fraud instances tripling since 2020. In 2023, digital ad fraud cost the marketing industry $84 billion. These ad fraud schemes are rising due to the high CPM of CTV ads, leading to a bigger payout for fraudsters who steal ad dollars.
One of the primary challenges is the need for better technological safeguards to detect and mitigate illegitimate traffic, such as bot activity. Political advertisers often rely on third-party ad fraud and verification technologies to avoid falling victim, but these solutions cannot guarantee complete protection. This usually leaves advertisers unaware of fraudulent activities until they’ve already incurred financial losses.
As political campaigns increasingly embrace CTV political ads, they become bigger targets for fraud and must make protection and measurement central to validating their campaign efficacy in conjunction with robust fraud detection measures. These efforts can help protect the integrity of political ad campaigns, mitigate fraud, and ensure messaging reaches genuine voters.
Ensuring ad effectiveness
Measurement and attribution of CTV political ads can be challenging. CTV offers better insights into audience preferences and behavior than linear TV, but despite the existing measurement tools, CTV is fragmented, involves many platforms, and lacks standardized metrics and attribution models tailored to political campaign goals. These problems make it hard to compare campaign performance, track CTV users across their viewing experience, and ensure ads appear in the right environments.
To fully understand your ad effectiveness, you should ensure accurate tracking mechanisms of audience behaviors with individual ads to assess the impact of CTV campaigns on voter engagement and turnout. This will help you better understand how to achieve campaign objectives, where to focus your efforts, and how to appeal to viewers in future campaigns.
It may also be helpful to understand some of the metrics advertisers currently employ for CTV measurement, including completion rate and return on ad spend (ROAS). Because CTV ads often can’t be skipped, this advertising strategy has a high completion rate, sometimes nearing 90%. ROAS is more focused on what you get in return for your ads, allowing you to track profits per dollar spent on ads. Political marketers can also use metrics like campaign impressions, total reach, view-through rate, and cost per completed view to understand how their ads are performing.
Ethical considerations related to transparency and misinformation
Political advertisers are responsible for upholding transparency and accuracy in their messaging to build trust with voters. Given how polarized the current political climate is, misinformation could make or break a political campaign. Whether intentional or unintentional, spreading misinformation through CTV can undermine the democratic process and erode public confidence in political institutions. Political marketers must do their best to prioritize ethical conduct, adhere to regulatory guidelines, and ensure their ads convey truthful information to voters.
Looking ahead: CTV in the 2024 elections
The current election cycle promises record-breaking political ad spending in 2024 and will underscore CTV’s role in shaping the future of political communication and engagement. With shifting viewer preferences and the ongoing evolution of digital media consumption habits, political campaigns need to look at CTV as a critical platform for voter engagement so they can allocate resources and shift their strategy to harness its full potential.
Using the targeted capabilities and expansive reach CTV advertising offers, political entities can optimize ad creative for the streaming environment, implement data-driven targeting strategies, and effectively connect with voters across diverse demographics and geographic regions.
Reach your ideal voters with Experian’s political audiences
Effective audience targeting is essential for political campaigns wanting to sway voters and shape public opinion in the next election. Don’t miss the opportunity to reach your ideal voters and make a lasting impact in the 2024 elections! With Experian’s political audiences, you can target voters based on their political affiliations, personas, and attitudes toward relevant ballot initiatives in your advanced TV advertising.
Experian offers a comprehensive range of political and geo-indexed audiences designed to help political campaigns and organizations connect with desired segments in a meaningful and impactful way. Our geo-indexed audiences can help you discover, segment, and craft messaging without the use of sensitive personal information, so you can confidently reach your target audience without sacrificing data privacy.
Our syndicated audiences also span multiple verticals and categories. With over 240 politically relevant audience segments available for activation, you can confidently execute your political campaign marketing strategy with precision and impact. When you connect with our audience team, we can also help you build and activate an Experian audience on the platform of your choice.
Partner with us to reach your ideal voters and make a lasting impact in the 2024 elections.
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Claritas, known for advanced consumer segmentation, is bringing its premium audiences into Experian Data Marketplace. PRIZM® Premier, P$YCLE® Premier, ConneXions® Premier and CultureCode® audiences are now available, giving marketers access to more than 1,700 syndicated segments in a frictionless, privacy-compliant way. Marketers can move from planning to activation faster, with lifestyle, and financial audiences built for modern media. The value of these insights is clear: richer, behavior-driven audience intelligence that supports more relevant targeting across connected TV (CTV), digital, and linear. How Claritas audiences are built Claritas audiences are built from more than 10,000 predictive behavioral indicators, robust survey linkages, and household-level demographic data. These inputs create deterministic, privacy-safe signals that go beyond broad demographic proxies and help reveal consumer intent. That detail matters in CTV and programmatic environments. 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Signals are fragmenting everywhere as expectations for relevant, personalized experiences continue to rise, while reliable identifiers become increasingly challenging to access. In response, addressability is shifting from a channel-specific tactic to an identity-driven approach to reach and measure defined audiences across screens. That evolution puts new pressure on performance. Marketing budgets require accuracy and accountability, which means targeting must deliver measurable reach and outcomes you can trust. At the same time, the growth of CTV and streaming is expanding addressable TV opportunities. As CTV inventory grows, so does the need for cross-channel, identity-based activation that works consistently and supports reach, frequency, and measurement in one connected view. That’s why identity has become the foundation for making addressable advertising work today. When to apply addressable advertising You don’t need addressable for everything, but it shines when you need your spend to go farther with accurate targeting and resonant messaging. ScenarioWhy addressable helpsProduct launches and seasonal pushesReach people who are more likely to care without flooding everyone elseHigh-consideration purchases (auto, travel, financial services)Focus on likely intent and suppress audiences that don’t fitCross-channel campaigns (digital, TV, mobile)Keep messaging consistent across screensWhen using first-party data with AIUse AI customer segmentation to scale responsibly and improve performance without sacrificing accuracyRegulated categoriesRely on compliant data practices and clearer controls for regulated industries Addressable advertising is one way to put relevance and respect into practice — but it shouldn’t be the only time these principles apply. 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Our identity and data-quality framework verifies that the data behind your audiences holds up in the real world — a key reason Experian is ranked #1 by Truthset for key demographic attributes. And because addressable advertising only delivers value when audiences move seamlessly from planning to activation, our audiences are interoperable by design. You can activate them across digital, social, and CTV platforms without rebuilding or reformatting your strategy for each channel. How AI is redefining customer segmentation Addressable advertising depends on audiences that stay accurate as people move across devices, platforms, and moments. Traditional segmentation built on static rules and snapshots in time can’t keep up with that reality. AI customer segmentation analyzes massive sets of household and individual data (such as intent, household demographics, purchase behavior, and content consumption) to identify patterns, predict intent, and group people into addressable audiences. As the AI advertising ecosystem continues to mature, reflected in industry frameworks like the LUMA AI Lumascape, segmentation and identity have become foundational layers rather than standalone tools. Those audiences update as conditions change, so they stay relevant instead of aging out. Here’s how AI-driven segmentation supports addressable advertising. What AI enablesWhy it mattersPredictive, intent-based audiencesAnalyze behavioral and transactional data to group people based on likely next actionsBroader audience availabilityAs more data signals are incorporated responsibly, AI makes it possible to support a wider range of addressable audience options without sacrificing accuracyDeeper insights from dataDiscover what people care about, how intent is forming, and which signals are most important with larger, more diverse data setsReal-time audience updatesKeep segments aligned as behaviors change, not weeks laterHigher accuracy, less guessworkRely on data-driven patterns for decision-making instead of assumptionsOngoing optimizationRefine audiences throughout the campaign lifecycle as performance signals come in We’ve used machine learning and analytics for decades to support responsible segmentation — balancing performance with privacy and transparency. That foundation now supports addressable advertising that adapts in real time while staying grounded in trust. Addressable TV: Targeting in the streaming era TV has become an addressable channel powered by data and identity resolution. CTV and OTT streaming are booming, while linear TV continues to decline, reshaping how people watch and how advertising works alongside it. For the first time, CTV spending is expected to outpace traditional TV ad spending in 2028, reaching $46.89 billion and signaling that addressable TV is now central to the media mix. With CTV and OTT platforms, advertising can now be delivered at the household level. That means two homes watching the same show can see different ads based on who lives there and what they like. This is what makes addressable TV possible. Benefits of addressable TV As streaming inventory continues to grow, addressable TV creates new ways to bring relevance and accountability to a channel once defined by broad exposure. Experian links identity data across streaming, linear, and digital platforms to help you manage frequency, attribution, and household-level insights in one connected view. Addressable TV also raises the bar. To manage reach, frequency, and measurement across streaming and linear environments, addressable TV depends on identity resolution that connects households across screens. Here’s how addressable TV helps you when identity is in place. What addressable TV enablesWhy it mattersHousehold-level targetingDeliver messages that reflect who’s watching, not just what’s onFrequency control across screensReduce overexposure and improve viewer experienceCross-channel measurement and attributionConnect TV exposure to digital actions, site visits, and conversionsMore efficient use of TV spendBring accuracy, accountability, and outcome-based insight to premium inventory and improve reach of streaming-first, harder-to-reach viewer segments Ultimately, addressable TV isn’t a replacement for linear TV, but it is an evolution. As streaming becomes the default viewing experience, the ability to engage TV audiences with the same care and clarity as digital is essential. Use cases for addressable advertising Addressable advertising works across industries because it adapts to how people make decisions. The examples below are illustrative scenarios that show how addressable audiences, identity resolution, and AI-driven segmentation can come together in practice using Experian solutions. Retail: Seasonal promotions A home décor retailer could use identity resolution and AI-driven segmentation to build addressable audiences, such as holiday decorators and recent movers, who are more likely to engage during peak seasonal periods. Campaigns could then be activated across CTV, display, and social, helping the retailer stay visible across screens while tailoring creative to seasonal intent. Automotive: In-market car buyers An auto brand might identify consumers nearing lease expiration using automotive-specific data tied to household and individual attributes. By suppressing current owners, the brand could avoid wasted impressions and activate addressable audiences across OTT and mobile to reach likely buyers during active consideration. Financial services: Credit card launch For a new credit card launch, a national bank could use modeled financial segments to reach credit-qualified prospects. Addressable digital advertising campaigns could apply frequency controls and personalized messaging, balancing reach with relevance while seamlessly measuring response. Streaming media: New subscriber growth A streaming platform looking to grow subscriptions could use an identity graph to exclude current subscribers. Likely viewers could then be targeted across CTV based on content preferences and viewing behavior, keeping spend focused on net-new growth. Media and entertainment: Audience expansion for a new release Ahead of a new release, a film studio could use behavioral and lifestyle data to identify likely moviegoers and fans of similar franchises. Addressable campaigns across CTV and digital video could help drive awareness and opening weekend attendance. Travel: High-value traveler acquisition A travel brand could use travel propensity data and household-level demographics to identify frequent flyers and family vacation planners. Personalized offers could then be activated across display, social, and programmatic channels to increase bookings while keeping spend focused on higher-value travelers. How Experian enables more effective addressable campaigns Addressable advertising is most effective when identity, data, and activation are connected from the start. Experian brings trusted household and individual data, privacy-first identity resolution, and broad activation partnerships together so you can move from audience insights to activation with minimal friction. Here’s how that comes to life across our core offerings. Identity resolution with Consumer Sync Consumer Sync connects devices, emails, digital identifiers, and offline data into a single, privacy-safe identity foundation. This connection helps your audiences stay consistent across streaming, linear TV, mobile, and digital despite changing signals. Audience insight and segmentation with Consumer View Consumer View supports clear segmentation, prospecting, and enrichment across industries. It combines demographic, behavioral, and interest-based data to help you build accurate, intent-driven audiences that reflect real people, not assumptions. Data is continuously updated and governed for accuracy. Omnichannel activation with Audience Engine Audience Engine enables direct activation of Experian audiences across CTV, digital, social, and programmatic platforms. It supports suppression, frequency management, and cross-channel consistency to keep messaging aligned and exposure controlled. More efficient media through curation and Curated Deals Curation combines data, identity, and inventory through Experian Curated Deals. These deal IDs, available off-the-shelf or privately, make it easier to activate high-quality audiences and premium inventory in the platforms you already use without custom setup. AI-enhanced segmentation and optimization Our AI-enhanced models analyze large data sets to create and refresh addressable audiences in real time, supporting intent-based targeting and ongoing optimization throughout the campaign lifecycle. These models work seamlessly with demand-side platforms (DSPs), ad platforms, and data clean rooms, so audience insights flow directly into activation and measurement without added complexity. Seamless integration with your ecosystem As an advertiser, you want addressable advertising to fit naturally into how you already plan and buy media. That’s why integration matters as much as insight. Experian integrates with leading DSPs, ad platforms, and data clean rooms, so you can activate addressable audiences in the environments you already use without reworking your strategy or adding complexity. This approach helps you: Build and activate addressable audiences: Reach the people you want with accuracy and respect. Activate across channels: Keep messaging consistent across digital, TV, and streaming. Optimize with data ranked #1 in accuracy by Truthset: Improve performance using the industry’s most reliable data. When identity, data, AI, and activation come together, addressable advertising does what it’s supposed to do: deliver relevance naturally, measure impact clearly, and give you confidence in every decision along the way. That’s the foundation for campaigns people want to engage with. Start creating campaigns audiences want to see Experian can help you apply addressable advertising in ways that respect consumers, perform across channels, and stand up to real-world measurement. Connect with our experts today to explore how addressable audiences, AI-driven segmentation, and identity-powered activation can work together in support of your goals. FAQs about addressable advertising What is addressable advertising? Addressable data-driven advertising involves delivering personalized ads to specific individuals or households using privacy-safe data and identity. What is an addressable audience? An addressable audience is a defined group of consumers you can identify and reach based on known household or individual attributes. What makes advertising addressable? Advertising becomes addressable when it’s possible to identify the audience by linking devices and households to people through identity graphs. This allows you to measure ad performance at the audience level and provide more personalized advertising. Is addressable advertising just for TV? Addressable advertising isn’t just for TV; it also works across digital, mobile, streaming, and social channels. How does AI help addressable advertising? AI improves addressable advertising by analyzing large data sets to predict intent, build more accurate audiences, boost performance over time, and improve your ability to find and build your audiences. Can addressable advertising work without cookies? Yes — identity resolution and first-party data are key to cookieless addressability. How does Experian support addressable advertising? Experian supports addressable advertising by providing trusted consumer data, privacy-centric identity resolution, and curated audience segments that activate across CTV, digital, mobile, and streaming platforms. Latest posts