2008/08/05
VOTERS TURNING TO THE INTERNET FOR CANDIDATE INFORMATION
Burst Media Survey Examines Internet's Role in Voter Information
Burlington, MA-August 5, 2008- To better understand the Internet's role in this year's presidential election, Burst Media surveyed 4,095 adults 18 years and older who said they would definitely vote in the 2008 election. The results indicate that television remains the primary source for candidate position information for more than one-third (35.1%) of definite voters in this year's presidential election. Women are significantly more likely than men to cite television as their primary resource – 40.9% vs. 28.7%, respectively. The Internet is a clear second in the information resource rankings, with 17.8% of definite voters citing it as their primary source for a candidate's position on election issues.
The Burst survey also found that the Internet is an essential election resource for men. One-fifth (21.5%) of men cite the Internet as their primary information resource on the positions that the presidential candidates hold on major election issues. Among men 25-34 years old, the Internet is tied with television as an election information source - with over one-quarter of the segment citing one or the other as their primary source of election information (Internet = 28.6% and television = 26.5%.)
The Burst survey also revealed interesting findings about how political information is procured online. These include:
- Voters Already Frequent Presidential Candidates' Websites: Two out of five (38.5%) definite voters have visited a 2008 presidential candidate's website. Men are slightly more likely than women to have visited a candidate's website – 44.1% vs. 38.2%, respectively. Additionally, respondents 18-34 years are significantly more likely than respondents 35 years and older to have visited a candidate's website.
- McCain and Obama Sites Draw Equal Interest among Men, But Obama Leads with Women: Overall, nearly one-third (30.2%) of definite voters have visited Barack Obama's official campaign website, and one-quarter (24.4%) have visited John McCain's website. Interestingly, equal numbers of men have visited the candidates' websites – 31.3% have visited Obama's website, and 30.4% have visited McCain's website. However, Barack Obama's website clearly leads among women with 29.3% having visited it, compared to 19.0% who have visited John McCain's website.
- Voters Seek Information and Video on Candidate's Positions: Reading information about a candidate's position on major campaign issues is the most popular activity (54.1%) when visiting their website. Other activities conducted by visitors to a candidate's website include: watching a video clip (41.4%), signing-up to receive email alerts (29.2%), sending an email (22.1%), leaving a comment (20.2%), making an online donation (18.0%), and signing-up to volunteer (11.9%).
- Obama's Site Leads in Reviews of Candidates' Site Effectiveness: Few definite voters who have visited the website of either Barack Obama or John McCain say the site was "very effective" at providing the policy information they were searching for. Among respondents who have visited John McCain's website, only one in five (19.4%) say the site was "very effective" at providing the information they were looking for, and another 29.1% say it was "somewhat effective." Obama's website receives higher marks than those received by McCain's. Among visitors to Obama's website, 40.0% say the site was "very effective" at providing them with the information they were seeking, and 28.3% say it was "somewhat effective."
- Half of All Voters Recall Online Political Advertising: More than half (54.2%) of voters recall online advertising for a presidential candidate. Further, one-quarter (23.6%) of definite voters who recall seeing an online ad say they clicked on a web advertisement for a presidential candidate. Voters 55 years and older are most likely to say they have clicked on a presidential candidate's web advertisement (27.1%).
"Political advocacy and information provided via the Internet serve as a great touch point for voters of all demographic groups," said Chuck Moran, VP of Marketing for Burst Media. "The targeting capabilities of online resources can also serve to granularly present information to niche constituents. Candidates that present interactive, content rich information in a variety of formats will be able to reach the broadest array of voters."
About Burst Media
An online media and technology company founded in 1995, Burst Media (www.burstmedia.com) is a leading provider of advertising representation, services and technology to independent Web Publishers. Burst Media enables advertisers to reach finely segmented, engaged consumers as they visit Burst's extensive number of interest-based sub-channels. Through its Burst Network and Burst Direct units, the company represents one of the broadest and deepest offerings of interest-based websites online. Burst also markets its ad management platform, AdConductor™, which empowers content websites, online ad networks, and web portals to manage the complete process of ad sales and service. Burst Media is headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts, with offices throughout the United States and in London, UK. For more information, visit www.burstmedia.com or call 781.272.5544.
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| Kel & Partners | |
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