Campaigns Turning More to Online Videos

CAMPAIGNS TURNING MORE TO ONLINE VIDEOS
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Zachary A. Goldfarb]
Political campaigns have begun to understand what corporate America already knows: Multiple sources of information and entertainment are making it more difficult for advertisers to reach their target audiences through traditional TV spots. Now, consultants say campaigns are turning to online video -- which can have more emotional impact than a TV ad -- as a form of targeted media to reach particular groups. "The problem is fragmentation. In 1982, a media planner could go out and buy ABC, NBC and CBS, and reach 80 percent of the market," said Bill Caspare, a veteran of political advertising who recently started an online video company. These days, he added, "they have to buy 57 stations and get 57 reporting mechanisms to get 80 percent. All of the sudden, the Internet becomes much more relevant." Audience research shows that the proportion of people watching broadcast TV has declined by about 30 percentage points in the past 20 years. An increasing share of people who do watch uses new technology such as digital recorders to skip commercials. Campaigns started to tap the Internet as early as 2000 for fundraising, and the 2004 presidential campaigns launched a number of online videos. This year, political consultants expect their use to expand substantially in Senate and House campaigns -- a preview of an even greater breakout in 2008.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/02/AR200604...
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