Political Sites Are Hot

FEBRUARY 11, 2008

But would you market your brand on a partisan site?

US Internet users were doing more than shopping online during the 2007 holiday season. They were also getting up to speed on the US presidential candidates.Visits to political sites grew more than those to most other site categories in December 2007 compared with December 2006, according to comScore Media Metrix data.

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The number of unique visitors to political sites increased by more than a third from December 2006 to December 2007.

Although US adults still prefer to get their presidential campaign information from traditional media, the percentage of US adults who check the Internet for information on presidential campaigns has risen since 2000, and 24% expect to do so this year, according to “Internet’s Broader Role in Campaign 2008,” by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press and the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

Online video and debates in particular will see greater usage by voters this year.

A Synovate–ClipBlast! study conducted last August found that about a quarter or more of all age groups planned to get political information on 2008 US presidential candidates from online news video.

A smaller though still significant number of users said they would get candidate information from online debates. Interestingly, respondents ages 65 and older were most interested in this information source.

Although 2008 isn’t predicted to be a breakout year for online political ad spending, political information sites look to be a hot draw. Marketers and advertisers considering placements on such sites may want to start looking at their target consumers’ political leanings.

The eMarketer US Online Population report will be published in February 2008. Click here to be notified when it is released.  

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