Nielsen: Democrats more likely to use mobile media

As the presidential campaigns aim to get out the vote using multi-channel marketing like never before, Nielsen Mobile provides some context on how mobile phones may play a role in this election season.

First, some general stats (as of Q2 2008):

- 43 million U.S. mobile subscribers use mobile Internet

- 33 million receive text alerts

- 32 million use instant messaging

- 29 million download wallpapers or screensavers

- 4 million mobile subscribers subscribe to and view mobile video, with additional mobile video users accessing video content over mobile websites

Already, much has been said of the Obama campaign's use of mobile marketing. Last month the campaign sent a text message to 2.9 million mobile phones announcing Joe Biden as Senator Obama's pick for vice president, as estimated by Nielsen Mobile. Additionally, the Obama campaign has a full mobile website containing news, videos and ringtone and wallpaper downloads.

Meanwhile, the McCain campaign has not been as active in mobile media, but that may make sense. Perhaps the McCain campaign knows that, in 2008, mobile is a more effective channel for reaching Democrats than Republicans.

Nielsen Mobile reports that, as of Q2 2008, mobile media was slightly more popular with Democrats than Republicans.

- Overall, 62% of Democrats are data users who use one or more data service on their mobile phone (compared to 55% of Republicans)

- Democrats are more likely than Republicans to use text messaging (53 percent compared to 46 percent)

- Democrats are more likely to use picture messaging and MMS (27 percent compared to 21 percent)

- Democrats are more likely to use mobile Internet, as well (17 percent compared to 13 percent)

Though the differences may not seem great, these variations indicate that advertising across mobile channels tends to be more efficient at reaching Democrats than Republicans.

That's not to say that conservative voters are without a place in mobile media. The Drudge Report, a news site many consider to be conservative-leaning, attracted a mobile Internet audience of 567,000 unique users per month, as of July 2008.

Other political and general news sites are attracting large audiences as the election approaches, too. CNN had the most popular general news site on mobile and also the most popular politically focused component as of July 2008. CNN News attracted 4.8 million unique users and CNN Politics attracted 1.2 million unique visitors in July 2008. As the election draws near, the audience for CNN Politics has grown sharply, from 364,000 unique visitors per month one year prior.

Mobile Internet won't be the only way that voters follow the remaining weeks of the election, though. Today, more than four million mobile subscribers subscribe to and watch video on their phone and many additional subscribers watch mobile video through mobile Web. Among mobile video viewers, news channels are consistently among the top channels watched over the phone. Further, Nielsen Mobile's most recent Mobile Video Report estimated that 680,000 mobile video users are interested in seeing more political and government coverage over mobile video, leaving open the opportunity for mobile news video channels to expand their coverage for a welcome audience.