COLUMBUS, OH--(Marketwire - August 18, 2010) - With so much at stake in the November midterm elections, politicians are frantic to get their message in front of voters. From Facebook to iPads to smartphones (not to mention TV, radio and newspapers), candidates have more ways than ever to reach potential voters. Understanding how voters are using all forms of media is key to a successful campaign, according to an analysis of the BIGresearch® Simultaneous Media Usage® Survey (SIMM® 16-Jun 2010).
Registered voters are a "tech-savvy" group of people. An overwhelming majority of the voter groups profiled have a desktop computer and a majority of each segment has a wireless laptop. Blackberry phones are more popular than iPhones (which 1 in 10 Democrats and Republicans have). iPods are more common among Democrats and Independents while more Republicans have an iPad.
| Do you have a... | Registered | Registered | Registered | Registered |
| Voters | Republicans | Democrats | Independents | |
| Blackberry | 14.3% | 15.0% | 15.0% | 12.5% |
| Desktop Computer | 77.3% | 79.1% | 76.0% | 80.6% |
| Droid | 4.6% | 4.0% | 5.4% | 4.3% |
| iPad | 2.2% | 2.5% | 2.1% | 1.9% |
| iPhone | 9.7% | 10.1% | 10.3% | 8.1% |
| iPod | 24.3% | 22.6% | 25.4% | 24.8% |
| Wireless Laptop | 56.9% | 58.8% | 55.5% | 56.9% |
Democrats are more likely to use social media than Republicans and Independents.
| Registered | Registered | Registered | Registered | ||
| Voters | Republicans | Democrats | Independents | ||
| Regular Usage: | |||||
| 44.3% | 43.7% | 46.6% | 39.5% | ||
| 6.0% | 4.9% | 7.2% | 5.1% | ||
| MySpace | 6.3% | 5.1% | 7.6% | 5.5% | |
| Hulu | 9.0% | 7.3% | 9.9% | 9.3% | |
| Read blogs | 11.1% | 10.3% | 12.0% | 10.8% | |
| Post to blogs | 4.9% | 4.6% | 5.1% | 4.6% |
Full complimentary report: http://info.bigresearch.com
When it comes to traditional media, more than 9 in 10 within all groups watch TV in an average week and Republicans are more likely to watch Broadcast TV. News Shows top the list of program types for Independents while Movies are more popular among other groups. Country is the favorite radio format for Republicans, Democrats prefer R&B and Independents like Rock. Democrats are more likely to read a magazine or newspaper.
However, the issue of "multitasking" or simultaneously using more than one form of media or engaging in other activities while using media may impact the effectiveness of traditional media.
| Registered | Registered | Registered | Registered | |||||
| Voters | Republicans | Democrats | Independents | |||||
| TV | ||||||||
| % who watch | 93.6% | 95.0% | 95.6% | 94.7% | ||||
| in average week | ||||||||
| Cable v. Broadcast | 47.6% v. 31.2% | 48.2% v. 32.4% | 48.3% v. 30.5% | 47.4% v. 30.7% | ||||
| Top 3 Program | Movies | Movies | Movies | News Shows | ||||
| Types | News Shows | News Shows | News Shows | Movies | ||||
| Dramas | Police Shows | Dramas | Dramas | |||||
| % who Multitask | 72.4% | 69.6% | 75.1% | 70.8% | ||||
| Radio | ||||||||
| % who listen | 75.1% | 76.9% | 76.3% | 73.8% | ||||
| in average week | ||||||||
| Top 3 Radio | Rock | Country | R&B | Rock | ||||
| Formats | Oldies | Oldies | Oldies | Oldies | ||||
| Country | Rock | Rock | Country | |||||
| % who Multitask | 66% | 63.8% | 67.3% | 65.0% | ||||
| Magazines | ||||||||
| % who read | 61.7% | 61.8% | 64.9% | 62.2% | ||||
| in average week | ||||||||
| Top 3 Magazines | People | People | People | People | ||||
| Time | Reader's Digest | Time | Time | |||||
| Sports Illustrated | Sports Illustrated | Essence | Reader's Digest | |||||
| % who Multitask | 64.4% | 63.8% | 67.0% | 61.8% | ||||
| Newspapers | ||||||||
| % who read | 63.3% | 64.0% | 66.3% | 65.0% | ||||
| in average week | ||||||||
| Top 3 Newspapers | Local daily | Local daily | Local daily | Local daily | ||||
| Weekly community | Weekly community | Weekly community | Weekly community | |||||
| New York Times | Wall Street Journal | New York Times | Wall Street Journal | |||||
| % who Multitask | 64.4% | 63.7% | 67.3% | 63.4% |
About BIGresearch®
BIGresearch consumer intelligence provides analysis of behavior in areas of products and services, retail, financial services, automotive and media. The BIGresearch Consumer Intentions and Actions® Survey (CIA™) of 8,000+ respondents is conducted monthly and the Simultaneous Media Usage® Survey (SIMM®) of 15,000+ respondents is conducted semi-annually. More information is available at www.bigresearch.com.
Contact Information:
Contact:
Chrissy Wissinger
BIGresearch
(614) 846-0146