Who Are The Persuadable Voters?
Often referred to as swing voters, the persuadables were the deciding group in the 2022 midterm election. As the 2024 presidential election approaches, this group again looks to be the most valuable for advertisers trying to get their candidate and cause messaging out in the months leading up to Election Day.
Persuadable voters, as a whole, aren’t driven by liberal or conservative ideology. Only 26% say they pay a great deal or a lot of attention to national politics, compared to 43% of overall likely voters. Younger and more diverse than the overall likely voter population, 49% of swing voters say they’re less enthusiastic than normal about the upcoming election. Combine that with the fact that 29% of uncommitted voters stayed home on Election Day in the 2020 presidential election, it’s clear there is work to do to fully tap into the potential of this group.
To effectively reach this group of voters and engage them to turn out on Election Day, it’s important to understand the nuances and needs of each sub-segment of this voting block.
Breaking Down the Swing Voters
Young and Uncommitted
Just over 40M of the Gen Z population will be eligible to vote in the 2024 election, with 8.3M newly eligible since the 2022 midterm election. About 45% of these Gen Z voters are young people of color. This group of coming-of-age voters holds tremendous potential to influence elections and spur action on key issues.
What they consume:
This entertainment-centric group tends to be movie buffs and has eclectic tastes. They closely follow trends across lifestyle, travel, sports, music, and fashion content.
Repeatedly Disappointed
These voters are disillusioned with the same results or lack thereof. According to Ipsos, 80% of non-voters believe politicians simply don’t care about the average person. As the number of Americans in both parties who believe the government is incapable of responding to voter concerns grows, this group represents a striking philosophical shift.
What they consume:
A primarily news-centric group, they are focused on the truth and fact-finding with influences coming from finance, economics, and history content. Entertainment comes in a close second and this group regularly consumes sports content.
Undeclared
This is a group of voters who struggle with commitment. As they agree with points on both sides, they often remain undecided until they’re forced to make a choice. In a July 2024 Reuters/Ipsos poll, 20% of voters reported they had not yet picked a candidate to support in the upcoming election. In addition, only 11% of uncommitted voters under 30 are following the 2024 campaign compared to 44% of committed voters under 30.
What they consume:
Consistent consumers of entertainment and news, they regularly seek out high-level, easily digestible programming like thrillers, drama, food, and sports.
Your Political Activation Strategy
Whether your goal is persuasion or motivation, there are many factors to consider when trying to reach voters and we’re here to make it easy.
With options ranging from programmatic buying to managed service, our political advertising experts have deep insights into media campaign strategy, options for audience data onboarding, best practices for targeting and segmentation, and a holistic view of how to set up your campaigns for maximum effect.
Whatever your objective is, our team is committed to helping you customize your strategy to amplify your message and connect with audiences across all screens. Together we’ll ensure victory in activating your audience.
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