With the last Presidential debate fast approaching, advertisers have limited remaining opportunities to engage consumers on political programming before November’s election. And with this year’s VP debate ratings up 63% over 2016, it’s clear viewers are tuning in. But many advertisers have historically avoided placing ads on political programming out of concern that appearing next to political content could hurt brand engagement. Is that really the right strategy?
As viewer engagement with ads next to this year’s first Presidential debate and VP debate demonstrated, there is upside for brands willing to brave the political waters. Avoiding political programming could be a missed opportunity for advertisers, especially during such a highly engaged election cycle.
First Presidential Debate
Viewers were highly engaged with the ads surrounding the first Presidential debate, which sold out on multiple networks as certain brands flocked to capture the massive audience simultaneously tuning in for the event. Ads before and after the first Presidential debate (across all networks) were 22% more effective at driving viewer Search Engagement with the brands advertised compared to ads on regular primetime programming. Search Engagement is EDO’s proprietary measure of the increase in search activity for a brand in the minutes following a TV ad airing.
When looking at individual networks’ first Presidential debate coverage, ABC not only had the highest ratings of the broadcast networks, but was also the top-performing broadcast network for advertisers in terms of driving Search Engagement. Viewers of the first Presidential debate on ABC were more than twice as likely to engage with the brands advertised immediately following an ad airing (on a per-person, per-second basis) compared to regular primetime programming.
The combination of a large and highly engaged audience for the first Presidential debate on ABC drove the same impact for advertisers as almost 23 ad units on regular primetime programming.
On cable, MSNBC was the strongest platform for advertisers and was 62% more effective at driving viewer Search Engagement with ads compared to regular primetime programming. One ad unit for the first Presidential debate on MSNBC generated the same impact for advertisers as over 12 ad units on regular primetime programming.
Top 20 Presidential Debate Individual Ad Airings by Resulting Viewer Search Engagement (9/29)
1.The Comey Rule (Showtime) – CBS
2. Target – ABC
3. The Right Stuff (Disney+) – ABC
4. Southwest Airlines – ABC
5. Ford – ABC
6. Tenet (Warner Bros. Pictures) – Fox News
7. Target – ABC
8. Target – ABC
9. Noom – CNN
10. Volkswagen – ABC
11. Skechers – MSNBC
12. Etsy – MSNBC
13. Watchman LAAC Device – MSNBC
14. Ashley Furniture – ABC
15. Pandora Jewelry – ABC
16. The New York Times – CBS
17. SimpliSafe – Fox News
18. SimpliSafe – NBC
19. The Croods: A New Age – Univision
20. Etsy – NBC
VP Debate
Although other networks posted higher ratings for the VP debate, NBC drew a highly engaged audience and was the top-performing network for VP debate advertisers. Viewers of VP debate coverage on NBC were 97% more likely to engage with the brands advertised immediately following an ad airing (on a per-person, per-second basis) compared to regular primetime programming.
The tuned-in audience for the VP debate on NBC meant that one ad unit drove the same impact for advertisers as almost 16 ad units on regular primetime programming.
Again drawing the highest ratings of any broadcast network, ABC had another strong showing for the VP debate after ranking as the top-performing network for the first Presidential debate in terms of driving viewer Search Engagement with ads.
Ads during ABC’s VP debate coverage were 45% more effective at driving Search Engagement with the brands advertised compared to ads on regular primetime programming. One ad unit for the VP debate on ABC generated the same impact for advertisers as over 12 ad units on regular primetime programming.
Top 20 VP Debate Individual Ad Airings by Resulting Viewer Search Engagement (10/7)
1. News Of The World (Universal Pictures) – CBS
2. Prevagen – NBC
3. Volkswagen – ABC
4. The Right Stuff (Disney+) – ABC
5. Etsy – ABC
6. Volkswagen – NBC
7. Tractor Supply Company – Fox News
8. Utopia (Amazon) – MSNBC
9. Smirnoff – CNN
10. Apple Watch – ABC
11. Autotrader – ABC
12. SoFi – ABC
13. Smirnoff – MSNBC
14. Mint Mobile – CNN
15. Ashley Furniture – ABC
16. KFC – ABC
17. Volkswagen – CBS
18. SimpliSafe – Fox News
19. Etsy – NBC
20. Aflac – ABC
The data is clear – viewers are tuned into the debates and are engaging with advertisers who saw the opportunity that this year’s political programming presents. And it has paid off – perhaps contrary to traditional thinking, the debates actually generated more brand engagement in many cases than advertising on regular primetime programming. With one debate remaining, we’ll see which brands take the plunge and capitalize on political programming before Election Day.