Commentary

GenZ-Millennials Buy Into Political TV Content, Advertising - On TV, Streaming Platforms

• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, 8 hours ago

Young Gen Z/Millennials media consumers still watch a lot of TV -- even with their mobile phones in one hand and TV remotes in the other. So there is a good chance they will buy a lot of products advertised on TV -- even stuff from politicians.

  That leads to a bigger question next year: Will they trust TV news and traditional political TV commercials for presidential election information? (And the biggest question: Will they come out and vote?)

Despite some conventional wisdom about younger U.S. citizens, 88% of 18-29s plan to vote in the upcoming primary, while 92% plan to cast their ballot for president, according to a recent report by Telaria.

These voters, called “GenZennials” in the report, will represent, by 2020, 52 million voters -- one-fifth of the American voting population.

Good news for those traditional TV platforms: 64% of GenZennials trust news they see on TV more than what they see on social media.

By contrast, 80% of GenZennials decry too much fake news on social media. However, 76% don’t think social-media companies can stop fake news from appearing on their platforms.

The study says GenZennials want to hear directly from candidates through video -- especially live streamed events. It is their single most important video or TV resource, according to the report, for obtaining information on candidates leading up to the election.

Young voter concerns are presumably climate change, gun control and health care, though probably less of the latter.

Here is the flip side of all of this. Historically, the political turnout of those voters has been low -- though it is improving. Among 18-to 29-year-olds, voter turnout went from 20% in 2014 to 36% in 2018 -- a big 79% jump.

By contrast, overall voter turnout numbers are higher. In 2016, 61.4% of the entire citizen voting-age population reported voting in the presidential election. Two years later, in 2018 -- for the midterms -- it was 53%, the highest midterm turnout in four decades.

Considering the heighten drama and viewership around President Trump's impeachment hearings, one might believe young political voters may be more motivated than ever in 2020.

Big rallies in the U.S. concerning climate change and gun control may signal a change, too. Political marketers will now know where -- and on what particular screens -- to ensure their messages are trusted.