With the 2024 Presidential election looking poised to be one of the most hotly contested on record, and several high-profile Senate races also on the ballot, the election cycle could be a fruitful one for radio.
New projections from PQ Media Executive Vice Presiden of Research Dr. Leo Kivijarv show that of the $14.6 billion they’re forecasting to be spent during the election cycle, $769 million will be spent on radio. While that figure represents only 5.3% of the total, it is a 35% uptick compared to previous years.
“Too many candidates and advocacy groups forget that radio is among the best media to engage with voters for numerous reasons,” Kivijarv wrote in a story from the Radio Advertising Bureau. “Elections are about reaching local voters, and as such, 86% of all political media buying is local, not national, although that share has been falling since candidates have begun to use the Super Bowl, cable television, streaming video, the internet, and mobile media to reach their target audiences.
“In rural areas particularly, radio is the major medium to connect with voters, as there isn’t a local digital media site, the television stations cover the larger cities in the DMA, and newspapers are usually weeklies, if there is even a print newspaper still being published in these small towns.”
While there is a growth estimate of 27% for all media marketing during the 2024 political season, radio’s growth outpaces it with that 35% increase projected.
