According to a recent Adweek article, Comcast is encouraging candidates in various state and local mid-term elections to take their speeches digital through Comcast Spotlight, a video-on-demand initiative that allows candidates to expand their campaign messaging beyond the 30-second spot. Candidates in approximately 70 Comcast markets can put together VOD spots up to two minutes in length, in the hopes of better informing constituents and would-be voters in the days leading up to the November elections.
"Getting our complete message to voters is critical in a political campaign," said Andrea Silbert, a businesswoman who was the first candidate from Massachusetts to craft a VOD spot. She was defeated in the September primary, but she still praised the initiative. "The on-demand platform allows us to provide greater detail in an unfiltered presentation not available through traditional media."
It is unclear what kind of effect the new platform could have on the election. However, Comcast said that in its mature markets, more than 75 percent of its digital cable subscribers have accessed VOD in the past 90 days. Of that number, 80 percent are registered to vote in their district, while 72 percent said they generally vote in statewide elections and 45.1 percent reported that they always cast ballots in statewide elections.
For more information, check out the Adweek article Comcast Offers Pols Digital Platform.
