In the 2024 election, young voters aged 18-34 will constitute a significant portion of the electorate, numbering over 40 million, which is nearly 20% of all eligible voters.
A promising 57% of this demographic express a strong intention to vote, while an additional 15% indicate they are fairly likely to participate in the election.
There's a tremendous opportunity for candidates to engage with young voters in 2024, particularly through CTV advertising. With the majority of young people either cutting the cord or never subscribing to traditional cable, streaming TV is incredibly popular; 8 out of 10 Gen Zers use these platforms.
Here are four effective strategies for political candidates and causes to create compelling CTV campaigns that can drive youth voter turnout.
Political candidates and campaigns often rely heavily on contact lists consisting of people that have voted before. When these campaigns attempt to reach new voters, it's often via college campuses. Research from Tufts University's Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) shows that people who are in college are more likely to hear from campaigns.
But this kind of voter outreach leaves many young people behind.
"Political campaigns and organizations must shift away from merely mobilizing voters who have cast a ballot before to focusing on growing and broadening a more representative electorate." — CIRCLE Growing Voters
On the flip side, CTV is a highly effective channel through which to reach a diverse audience of younger voters in hyper-local geographies with memorable messaging.
Through political data partners like DataTrust and TargetSmart, political advertisers can target audiences more granularly, by factors like:
Learn more: Your Guide to CTV Data—How to Target and Optimize Campaigns
It's no wonder political spending on connected TV (CTV) is expected to reach an estimated $1.3 billion this year.
Speaking of issue advocacy ads, Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg, Director at CIRCLE, explains that young people support issues first and foremost — and do not necessarily show loyalty to a particular party.
"Young people really want to hear from candidates who understand where they are in life and understand how they would support their priorities. Economy, housing, cost of living are some of the top issues. But another issue that is not considered a social issue per se but [looms] large on young people's mind, is mental health issues." — Kawashima-Ginsberg
Global data from Edelman supports this sentiment, showing that 70% of all Gen Zers are involved in a social or political cause. Edelman research shows that young voters' top issues are: Inflation/cost of living; jobs that pay a living wage; gun violence; and climate change.
Edelman also identified three pillars to help brands and candidates alike earn trust and engage with young voters, harkening back to the basics:
To connect with young voters in 2024 and win their support, candidates and causes should focus on issue advocacy ads that resonate with this key demographic. You should also show up with positive messaging that motivates others to unify around a more positive future.
Thanks to highly granular targeting on CTV, political candidates can even serve specific issue ads to the audience segments that are most likely to be interested in those causes.
Related content: 2024 Political Ad Statistics: Election Season is Underway
While reaching young voters with a strong message is important, it won't matter much if they don't know how to register or when to return their mail-in ballot.
Research on the 2020 election showed that:
This research highlights critical knowledge gaps in young voters that political candidates should aim to address in their advertisements. In order to participate in democracy, young people need practical information about election processes.
To increase the likelihood that young people actually cast a ballot, consider providing information about:
Remember, CTV advertising allows for hyper-local targeting, so candidates can reach voters in different geographies with accurate details about local polling locations and hours, ID requirements, deadlines, etc.
Despite all of the research on young voters and the issues they care about, it's important to test your campaign assumptions about this demographic — and refine as quickly as possible. In-flight optimization is difficult with traditional advertising methods like linear TV, but it's a foundational element of successful CTV advertising.
To see what resonates best with your audience, you can test:
Here's what this looks like in practice: a campaign manager might notice that the conversion rates on their ad are low in certain geographies; in-flight analysis and adjustments could allow them to identify which demographics and locations are most receptive to their message, and shift budget to those line items. Or, they might consider running different creative with underperforming audiences to see if that helps performance.
For instance, New Hampshire's gubernatorial candidates might find that messaging addressing affordable housing may resonate most with young voters in cities like Manchester and Nashua — while young people in the more rural parts of the state may be more engaged by creative about the environment.
It's important to quickly test and optimize your ads campaigns to connect with as many young voters as possible before Election Day.
Political campaigns certainly cannot address the entire thorny issue of youth voter turnout alone. Increasing endemically low young voter turnout will also require coordinated efforts from educators, policymakers, and other community stakeholders.
But campaigns and causes can do their part to reach young voters in 2024 — and encourage them to cast a ballot. Considering the razor-thin margins expected in many races this year, every vote matters.
Whether it's the presidential election or a local state house representative, CTV is an ideal channel for campaigns to reach young people with highly targeted and memorable messaging.
Looking to connect your campaign with more voters? Check out:
