• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, March 6, 2012

Political advertising is a boon to radio broadcasters -- and it’s a wise investment for political campaigns too, judging by the results of a new Arbitron study of political ads and radio audiences conducted from fall 2010-fall 2011 using data from Scarborough Research’s “SA+” database. According to the study, which covered 208,274 individuals, radio excels at reaching voters with specific political affiliations.

Examining party identification, voter registration, and frequency of voting, the study discovered some interesting patterns in radio listening -- extending to formats beyond the usual suspects in talk radio. For example, the adult contemporary format attracts more Democrats than Republicans, with 39% of listeners identifying as Democratic or Democratic-leaning, versus 34% Republican or Republican-leaning.

Meanwhile, most rock formats attracted more Republicans or Republican-leaning voters, with classic rock, active rock and album-oriented rock all leaning Republican; alternative rock was the only rock format that attracted more Democrats. Not surprisingly, Christian radio and country formats also skew Republican.

Urban and Spanish-language radio formats attracted more Democratic or Democratic-leaning listeners, with the highest proportions seen among gospel and urban AC audiences, at 64% and 61%, respectively.

The findings about music formats and political affiliations are germane for targeting campaign messages, according to Arbitron Marketing Manager Ron Rodrigues, who stated: “Radio's near universal reach of potential voters and its ability to target voting segments that mirror the national landscape through its various music and talk formats make it a highly effective platform for political campaigns.” He added: “In addition to talk formatted stations, music formatted stations offer candidates the ability to reach a wider spectrum of voters and enhance 'Register to Vote' and 'Get Out the Vote' initiatives.”