WINNING CANDIDATES TURN TO RADIO EARLY TO BOOST VOTER INTENTION
For many political campaigns, radio tends to be a home stretch media, with candidates hitting the airwaves in the last few weeks before an election. But for a pair of well-known gubernatorial candidates from both sides of the political spectrum, this has proven to be anything but the case. Not only has radio been a major part of their marketing efforts, they have bucked the trend and introduced radio advertising much earlier in the election cycle. In a new study, Katz has uncovered evidence that this strategy - using radio early and often - is helping these candidates build support and win votes.
EARLY AND OFTEN: KATZ ANALYSIS OF ARKANSAS AND GEORGIA PRIMARIES
Katz's analysis of Media Monitors data in Arkansas and Georgia found that Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) and Stacey Abrams (D) both logged radio activity in March, well before the political window even opened in their states, and more than 2 months prior to the state primaries. For both the Huckabee Sanders and Abrams campaigns, radio is playing a major role in energizing the base and laying groundwork for the November general election.
RADIO IMPACTS VOTER INTENTION
To understand how well these respective radio efforts influenced voters, Katz conducted online surveys in both Arkansas and Georgia among likely primary-goers during the week leading into the May 24th primaries. The results of the study showed that radio advertising successfully increased voter intention for both candidates.
Georgians who heard Stacey Abrams' radio campaign were +19% more likely to vote for her compared to those who did not hear her radio ads. And in Arkansas, primary-goers saw a +13% increase in intention to vote for Sarah Huckabee Sanders among those that heard her radio campaign vs. those who did not.
Stacey Abrams and Sarah Huckabee Sanders show that candidates from both sides of the political spectrum stand to benefit from using AM/FM Radio to engage with voters. They both invested early in key markets, getting their message out early for primaries, and setting a firm stage for the November elections.
