At A Glance
Political advertising spend is increasing across digital, connected TV (CTV), and programmatic channels as the election cycle progresses. Experian’s political audiences help political campaigns reach voters using party affiliation, issue-based personas, and ballot initiative relevance. These segments support geographic accuracy, message alignment, and cross-channel activation across major platforms.In this article…
Political advertising trends shaping campaign strategy
Political advertising is entering a high-growth cycle as the 2024 election season ramps up. Political ad spending is expected to surpass $10 billion; with Kamala Harris entering the race, spending priorities have moved, especially in key states like Ohio, where the Senate race alone has already seen $300 million in ad spending.
CTV is capturing a growing share of that investment. CTV’s share of political ad spending is projected to increase from 2.7% in 2020 to 12.8% this year. The Harris campaign, leading the charge, allocating $200 million for digital ads, with a significant portion committed to streaming platforms.
With more money flowing into more channels, effective audience targeting has become crucial in political marketing. The ability to reach voters based on behavior, geography, and media habits can influence perception, guide engagement, and impact election outcomes.
Three political campaign marketing audience categories
This article outlines three political audience segments that can help political campaigns and advocacy organizations align messaging with voter priorities, behaviors, and geography.
More than 240 politically relevant Experian Audiences are available across TV, demand-side, and supply-side platforms. These audiences support campaign planning and activation across three core categories:
- Political affiliations
- Political personas
- Relevant ballot initiative audiences
Let’s break down each category and which audiences you can use in your political campaign marketing to target voters this upcoming election season.
Our political affiliation audiences help your campaigns connect with voters based on likely party alignment or registration status. These audiences are built using voter registration data combined with Experian’s modeling techniques, allowing campaigns to reach voters at scale. These audiences are often used as a foundation, then layered with geography or issue-based attributes to refine reach.
Here are four audience segments that you can activate to target voters based on their predicted party affiliation:
- Democrat
- Republican
- Independent/Other
- Unregistered
How to use these audiences
A campaign organizer or media strategist can activate Independent/Other to reach persuadable voters who are not strongly tied to a party, particularly in competitive districts.
Our political persona audiences’ model political affiliation and ideological leaning, helping your campaigns understand where voters are likely to fall across the political spectrum – including committed party members, moderates, and those who lean without formal affiliation.
Here are 10 audience segments that you can activate to target voters based on their viewpoints on key political issues:
- Political Unregistered Liberal Leaning
- Political Unregistered Conservative Leaning
- Committed Democrats
- Moderate Democrats
- Political Leaning Liberals
- Liberal Leaning Independents
- Conservative Leaning Independent
- Political Leaning Conservatives
- Moderate Republicans
- Committed Republicans
How to use these audiences
A campaign organizer, policy director, or media planner can activate Liberal Leaning Independents to reach voters whose issue positions influence voting behavior more than party labels.
Issue-based audience layers that complement political personas
Political personas identify how voters think. Issue-based audiences help identify what motivates them. Campaigns often layer these audiences with political personas to align issue messaging with voter priorities.
Environmental issue alignment using GreenAware audiences
To reach voters who believe the environment is a key political issue, you can layer in our GreenAware audiences with our Political Personas audiences:
- Behavioral Greens
- Think Greens
- Potential Greens
- True Browns
Geographic and voting-pattern layers
To reach voters based on their regional voting patterns, you can use our new battleground counties and district audiences:
- Affiliation Switcher Counties
- Battleground Counties
- House Battleground Districts
- Democrat Counties
- Republican Counties
- Independent Counties
Ballot initiatives often hinge on everyday experiences, family structure, and local priorities. Experian Audiences help your campaigns reflect those realities in your outreach.
Local and national ballot initiative support
Consumer behaviors are often great predictors of local and national ballot initiatives. These behaviors help campaigns anticipate which issues are most likely to resonate within specific communities and households.
For example:
- Military households may engage with veteran-related initiatives
- Families with children may respond to education funding measures
- Environmentally engaged voters may support sustainability proposals
Experian offers consumer behavior and interest audiences that help campaigns align outreach, message framing, and issue emphasis with the everyday experiences that shape ballot initiative support.
- Military – Active
- Presence of Children > Ages: 0-18
How to use these audiences
A ballot initiative campaign manager or field organizer can activate audiences such as Military – Active or Presence of Children: Ages: 0–18 to align outreach with voters whose daily experiences connect directly to the ballot initiative.
Charitable causes
Charitable and advocacy causes often rely on donor participation and sustained financial support. Audience categories supporting charitable cause outreach and fundraising include lifestyle attributes, charitable giving behavior, household composition, and donation patterns.
- Contributes to Political Charities
- Discretionary Spend – Donations > $1,000-$1,999
How to use these audiences
A fundraising director or advocacy lead can activate Contributes to Political Charities to reach voters with a demonstrated history of political giving.
Demographic and financial context
Demographic and financial context, such as age, income, education, and household structure, influences how voters interpret ballot language, policy framing, and issue relevance. These factors shape how messages are received across different communities and life stages.
Demographic and financial audiences help campaigns apply this context by aligning message tone, framing, and emphasis with voter circumstances. When paired with geo-targeting, these audiences help reduce wasted spend and support delivery of relevant messages within the appropriate geographic boundaries.
- Financial FLA Friendly > In Market Auto Loan
- Geo-Indexed > Household Income: $50,000-$74,999
- Geo-Indexed > Education: Bachelor Degree
- Presence of Children > Ages: 10-12
- Marital status > Single
- Ages > 19-24
- Moms, Parents, Families > Mothers with infant child(ren) (0-3 yrs old)
- Financial FLA Friendly1> Income > $1,000-$24,999
- Financial FLA Friendly > In Market New Mortgage
How to use these audiences
A campaign communications or policy team can activate our demographic and financial audiences such as Geo-Indexed: Household Income: $50,000–$74,999 to adjust tone and framing of ballot language.
Media consumption and channel preferences
Understanding how voters consume media supports more effective channel planning. Media engagement audiences reflect preferences for streaming TV, email, digital video, and social platforms, helping campaigns match message format to viewing habits.
- Engagement Channel Preference > Email Engagement
- Engagement Channel Preference > Streaming TV
- Social Media > Snapchat
- Purchase Transactions > Ad Responders > Digital
- Television (TV) > Ad Avoiders/Ad Acceptors > Ad Acceptors
How to use these audiences
A media planner or digital strategist can activate Engagement Channel Preference > Streaming TV to match ballot initiative messaging with how voters prefer to consume media.
Mosaic® USA
Our Mosaic audiences are proprietary persona-based audience solution that combines hundreds of demographic and behavioral data points to classify all U.S. households into groups and types, creating a holistic view of voters and their interests.
- Mosaic – Singles and Starters > O55 – Family Troopers
- Mosaic – Cultural Connections > P56 – Mid-scale Medley
- Mosaic – Singles and Starters > O52 – Urban Ambition
How to use these audiences
A campaign strategy or insights team can activate Mosaic – Singles and Starters > O55 – Family Troopers to understand voters through a combined demographic and behavioral lens.
Occupation
Occupation provides important context for how voters evaluate ballot measures, policy proposals, and issue messaging. A voter’s work environment, industry, or employment status can influence how measures are perceived, particularly when policies affect jobs, education, agriculture, retirement, or economic conditions.
Occupation-based audiences help campaigns align messaging with professional context by tailoring language, examples, and issue framing to industries and work environments that are directly affected by specific measures.
- Management/Business and Financial Operations
- Sales
- Farming/Fish/Forestry
- At-Home: Retired/Empty Nesters
- Education
How to use these audiences
A policy advocate or outreach coordinator can activate Education or Farming/Fish/Forestry to tailor messaging around measures that affect specific industries or work environments.
Personal views
Understand consumers personal views around family, their social and work life.
- Psychographic/Attitudes > Work Centered
- Psychographic/Attitudes > Family Centered
- Psychographic/Attitudes > Social Isolation
How to use these audiences
A campaign organizer or messaging strategist can activate Psychographic/Attitudes > Family Centered to reach voters whose personal priorities influence how they interpret ballot measures.
What separates Experian’s syndicated audiences
Our syndicated audiences give you an advantage across channels, offering both scale and accuracy:
- Experian’s 3,500+ syndicated audiences can be sent to 200+ leading social platforms, such as Meta and Pinterest, TV, and programmatic advertising platforms, and activated directly within Audigent, a part of Experian, with private marketplaces (PMPs)./li>
- Reach consumers based on who they are, where they live, and their household makeup. Experian ranked #1 in accuracy by Truthset for key demographic attributes.
- Access to unique audiences through Experian’s Partner Audiences available on Experian’s data marketplace, within Audigent, a part of Experian, for activation in PMPs, and directly on platforms like DirectTV, DV360, Magnite, OpenAP, and The Trade Desk.
You can activate our syndicated audiences on-the-shelf of most major platforms. For a full list, download our syndicated audiences guide.
Where can you activate Experian Audiences?
Experian Audiences can be activated on 200+ leading social platforms, such as Meta and Pinterest, TV, and programmatic advertising platforms, and activated directly within Audigent, a part of Experian, with private marketplaces (PMPs), or found directly on over 30 platforms, including:
Need a custom audience? Reach out to our audience team, and we can help you build and activate an Experian audience on the platform of your choice.
You can activate political audiences across most major platforms, either directly or through Audigent PMPs, including select partner audiences shown below. For campaigns with specialized needs, our team can also support custom audience development and partner data collaboration.
Want to activate an Experian Audience on Meta, Pinterest, Snap, TikTok or on a platform not listed above? Contact us today.
Matching political messages with verified voter audiences
Political campaigns face pressure to reduce waste and prevent mismatched targeting, as recent election cycles show millions of dollars spent reaching voters who were not eligible or relevant to specific races.
Experian offers more than 240 politically relevant audiences, built on voter registration data and validated modeling, supporting responsible audience selection and geographic alignment. Our audience team reviews and maintains these segments to support relevance, scale, and compliance.
You can activate our political audiences on-the-shelf of most major platforms. Can’t find the audience you’re looking for or need a custom audience? Connect with our audience team for more information. Additionally, work with Experian’s network of data providers to build audiences and send to an Audigent PMP for activation.
Connect with our audience team
FAQs
Experian Audiences are pre-built, privacy-compliant consumer segments that help marketers target based on verified demographic, financial, and behavioral data. This includes more than 240 politically relevant audiences designed for flexibility across channels and can be activated on 200+ platforms, including major social, CTV, and programmatic partners.
Experian ranks #1 in demographic accuracy according to Truthset, and marketers can choose from 3,500+ syndicated audiences that capture signals such as income, spending behavior, household structure, financial attitudes, and ability to pay. These same audiences are also available through partnerships on platforms like DirecTV, Dish, Magnite, OpenAP, and The Trade Desk.
For a deeper look at our audience catalog, explore our syndicated audience guide.
Three political audience segments that can help political campaigns and advocacy organizations align messaging with voter priorities, behaviors, and geography.
More than 240 politically relevant Experian Audiences are available across TV, demand-side, and supply-side platforms. These audiences support campaign planning and activation across three core categories:
– Political affiliations
– Political personas
– Relevant ballot initiative audiences
Political campaigns, advocacy groups, ballot initiative committees, and public affairs organizations use Experian’s political audiences to align their outreach with voter registration data, modeled attributes, and geographic boundaries.
Experian’s political affiliation audiences use voter registration records combined with Experian modeling to scale reach beyond file-based targeting and support activation across media platforms. In addition, Experian offers political persona audiences, which are built using modeled signals that reflect ideological leaning and issue orientation rather than formal party registration. Political personas help campaigns understand voting mindset and policy priorities across the political spectrum, including voters who lean without formal party affiliation.
Experian Audiences can be activated on 200+ leading social platforms, such as Meta and Pinterest, TV, and programmatic advertising platforms, and activated directly within Audigent, a part of Experian, with private marketplaces (PMPs), or found directly on over 30 platforms.
Experian’s political personas focus on issue orientation and voting mindset, while Experian’s party affiliation audiences focus on voter registration status. Political persona audiences support messaging tied to policy topics, economic priorities, and social issues, while party affiliation audiences are commonly used to align outreach with registered party status and base mobilization strategies.
Footnote
- “Fair Lending Friendly” indicates data fields that Experian has made available without use of certain demographic attributes that may increase the likelihood of discriminatory practices prohibited by the Fair Housing Act (“FHA”) and Equal Credit Opportunity Act (“ECOA”). These excluded attributes include, but may not be limited to, race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age, disability, handicap, family status, ancestry, sexual orientation, unfavorable military discharge, and gender. Experian’s provision of Fair Lending Friendly indicators does not constitute legal advice or otherwise assures your compliance with the FHA, ECOA, or any other applicable laws. Clients should seek legal advice with respect to your use of data in connection with lending decisions or application and compliance with applicable laws.
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In our Ask the Expert series, we interview leaders from our partner organizations who are helping lead their brands to new heights in AdTech. Today’s interview is with Samantha Zhang, Senior Data Scientist, and Jim Meyer, General Manager of the DASH TV Universe Study at the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF). DASH is an annual tracking study conducted by the ARF to define and better understand TV audience behavior and household dynamics. What does DASH measure, and how does it help the industry understand TV consumption today? By capturing hundreds of individual- and household-level data points from each respondent in a rigorous and nationally projectable sample, DASH creates a comprehensive picture of U.S. consumer TV “infrastructure” – how America watches. Core elements in DASHElements that create context in DASHTV setsLocation | brand | smartness | service modes | sources DemographicsConnected devices Game consoles |video players | streaming devicesYesterday viewing Daypart | TV/device genre | Out-of-home viewingMobile devicesOwners | sharing usersShoppingOnline and in-store | Exposure to major RMNsInternet serviceModes | ISPs | connectivity by device Streaming audio Streaming TVSVOD/AVOD tiers and sharing | FAST Email accounts and apps Live TV Modes of access | including casting from devices Social media For example, DASH gathers: Data on every TV set, including brand, room location, age, “smartness,” and connection devices and modes Household connectivity and video service data, even in homes with no TV set Internet Service Providers (ISP) and TV service usage, including Multichannel Video Programming Distributors (MVPDs), virtual vMVPDs, streamers (ad-supported and premium), and Free Ad-Supported Television (FAST) channels Person-level ownership and usage of video-capable mobile devices, including smartphones, tablets, and laptops Measures of viewing and co-viewing across dayparts, devices, and services Additional modules covering shopping and retail media networks, streaming audio, social media, email, and apps Broad coverage and granularity make DASH a uniquely robust source of truth for practitioners across the industry, including measurement experts and ad programming strategists. DASH also reports regularly (and publicly) on key industry dynamics. DASH identified a growing segment of device-only viewers – now nearly 9 million households that watch TV, but do not own a TV set – and highlighted the implications of that trend for traditional ratings systems based only on households with TV sets. Households (HHs – million)2025 HHs (M) U.S. penetrationChange vs. 2024 (M)Total US134.8100%+2.7Connected TV (CTV)114.685%+2.1TV (Set)124.292.2%+1.1Device-only8.86.6%+1.6TV-Accessible133.198.7%+2.7 DASH called out the rise in app-based pay TV and proposed a new connection framework that better represents the modern TV world, in which linear and streaming overlap. DASH also defines the universes of households reachable with advertising. This graphic, for example, shows how all ad-supported linear and streaming properties in aggregate define the true scale of TV advertising. While 35 million households (and growing) are reachable only with streaming ads and 13 million (and falling) only with linear ads, most households are reachable with both, underscoring the importance of understanding the “overlap.” Who uses DASH data, and what decisions does it help inform? There are three primary users of DASH, each with its own use cases: Measurement providers, including Nielsen, use DASH to calibrate viewership data, turn household data into persons data (and vice versa) and estimate potential reached audiences–what the providers call media-related universe estimate (MRUEs)–for the calculation of ratings. Not surprisingly, measurement companies were the first to see the value that an independent TV universe study could provide. Media companies, including major broadcasters and streamers, use DASH to add context and color to their ad sales presentations – and to track the measurement providers, whose ratings play a major role in valuing ad inventory. AdTech companies, including Experian, use DASH to create high-value audience segments for activation. The recent accreditation of DASH by the Media Rating Council (MRC) and adoption by Nielsen as an input to its TV ratings have generated interest from a broad range of companies. We are actively pursuing new licensees and partners to make DASH more useful within, and even outside, the TV ecosystem. What does MRC accreditation signify, and why is it meaningful for DASH? MRC accreditation means DASH passed a rigorous audit conducted by Ernst & Young over many months, which validated our methodology, controls, and data quality. MRC accreditation establishes that DASH is an industry-standard dataset. While the service provider normally announces its own accreditation, the MRC took the unusual step of issuing its own release on DASH, announcing the accreditation of DASH for TV universe estimation and endorsing the study for broader, cross-media use. How does Experian use DASH data to build audiences? The segments combine specific TV usage habits and behaviors from DASH with Experian data on demographics, spending, and other contextual inputs to create a fuller view of consumer viewing behavior. They are designed to be valuable to advertisers in many categories and planning contexts – and to be customizable to fit advertisers’ media targets. The segments can be used to: Apply or suppress audiences to improve target coverage across a campaign Better align media and creative Reach elusive but high-value viewers, such as Ad Avoiders Drive valuable consumer behavior Achieve specific advertising objectives What are some practical use cases for DASH-based audiences? Here are some practical use cases for four different kinds of DASH segments in five different advertiser categories. Travel Co-WatchersA couples-only resort uses TV Co-Watching Households without Children to strengthen target reach and ad memory recallA big theme park destination uses TV Co-Watching Households with Children to reach families in moments of togetherness Home Entertainment TV Owners and Brand LoyalistsA premium TV manufacturer uses the overlap of Multi Brand TV Owners and Single Brand TV Loyalist Households to market its newest TV model to its most loyal consumers. Fast Food Screen Size ViewersA fast food chain with a high-impact new brand campaign uses Large Screen TV Viewers to better align the media and creativeThat same fast food chain uses Small-Screen TV Viewers to drive store traffic by increasing exposure of its retail campaign among on-the-go viewers Financial Services Cord Cutters A personal cost management app and a cash-back credit card target Streaming-First Cord Cutter Households to reach young, tech-savvy, cost-conscious consumers Thanks for the interview. Where can readers learn more about DASH? We started work on DASH seven years ago, and it’s been fun to watch it “grow up.” Our partnership with Experian is a big step toward putting DASH to work for advertisers and agencies. To learn more, visit our site at https://theARF.org/DASH or contact us at DASH@theARF.org. Contact us About our experts Samantha Zhang, Senior Data Scientist at ARF Samantha Zhang is a Senior Data Scientist at the Advertising Research Foundation working on the DASH TV Universe Study, with additional research spanning areas including attention measurement, digital privacy, and artificial intelligence. Jim Meyer, General Manager, DASH, at ARF Jim Meyer is general manager and co-founder of the ARF DASH TV Universe Study and managing partner of Golden Square, LLC, which advises media and research technology companies on growth strategy and development. Latest posts
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