Want to influence millennial voters? Ditch your conventional ad strategy.

Millennials are different than previous generations both in how they consume information and how they respond to advertising. And they are a growing part of the electorate – it’s estimated that in the 2020 election, they will comprise 40% of all voters.

For a campaign to be successful, they must inform, engage and activate millennial voters – and that means adjusting your advertising strategy. This comes down to serving the right message, on the right channel, on the right device at the right time.

Unlike previous generations who had to wait until a particular hour to watch the evening news, millennials want their information on demand. The best way to reach a millennial voter is to advertise on their many interconnected devices.

“A recent survey by SDL found that 30 percent of millennials use four or more digital communications devices daily, and the overall group checks mobile phones an average of 40 times per day, making a multiscreen strategy more essential than ever.”

Millennials are utilizing digital technology more than any other generation, and political advertisers would be wise to do the same.

Simply advertising on the correct digital platform is not enough. Campaigns must be conscious of their audience when crafting advertisements. There is a perception that millennials hate advertising and therefore cannot be swayed by ads. Millennials don’t hate ads, but they don’t respond well to the tone and messaging of traditional advertising. Millennials want to be informed, and see advertising as an avenue of education.

Millennials have a low tolerance for over-broad, oversimplified or irrelevant advertising. Campaigns must target their messaging to the voter if they want it to be effective. Ads are more successful in influencing millennials when they’re entertaining, informative and pertinent. Blanket advertising, like running an ad in a newspaper or on the evening news is a largely ineffective method of reaching millennial voters.

Millennials are tech savvy and large consumers of information. Political campaigns must advertise on their devices with targeted, relevant and savvy advertisements.

Want more information on running effective digital advertisements? Reach out!