Donald Trump’s first 50 days in office have been eventful, to say the least. Thousands of federal workers have either been fired or accepted buyouts. And Trump has made good on his threats to impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico—sort of.
Tariffs were one of the centerpieces of Trump’s campaign. They’re also one of the parts of his presidential policy that’s likely to affect the most consumers in the least amount of time. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to get a read on what the American public really thinks about levies on our closest trading partners.
As it turns out, some people don’t understand what a tariff is, others support Trump’s stronger stance against the drug trade, and still others have come out in favor of free trade, sans tariffs. Whether you’re looking to change the minds of this third group, push them into action, or simply assess how they would feel about minor changes to America’s free trade policies as opposed to major ones, it’s crucial to understand who they are and where to target them.
Here’s what Resonate’s AI-powered data engine, rAI, can tell us about the 8M Americans who support free trade policies.
1. They’re mostly Republicans.
In keeping with the Republican Party’s long tradition of being the party of anti-Big Government, the majority of this audience is affiliated with the GOP—34%, to be exact. The next biggest percentage identifies as Independent (30%), followed by Democrats at 29%. Their top three issue areas include toughening law enforcement and prosecution, maintaining Second Amendment rights, and protecting their privacy online.
2. They’re not sure what poses the biggest threat to the US.
Unlike other segments of voters who pinpoint illegal immigration, the mainstream media, or climate change as the current biggest threats to the US, Americans who support free trade policies don’t have anything specific in mind that they’re concerned about. That’s not to say they don’t think there are threats facing the United States, but instead, that they’re not really sure what’s causing them unease. This suggests that they think it’ll take more than one piece falling into place for America to have a better future.
3. They’re very worried about their finances.
Prices have risen steeply in the last few months, and as a potential recession looms, everyone is anticipating pain. This audience is extremely concerned about their financial stability: They’re 57% more likely to be worried about being evicted from their homes in the next six months as the average American, and 35% more likely to be worried about job loss. Not only are they concerned about eviction, but they’re also fretting over where they would go: 25% are concerned about being unable to afford housing or experiencing a housing market crash. Forty percent believe wages aren’t keeping up with the cost of living, and 44% are concerned about taxes increasing. These big numbers across a wide range of possible concerns for the next six months reflect an audience that feels anxious about everything, in general.
4. They like CTV and linear television and Internet videos—not so much social media.
This audience is most heavily engaged on CTV and linear television: 53% and 36% watch 11 hours or more a week, respectively. Forty-five percent spend the same amount of time watching Internet videos. They’re lightly engaged with social media, radio, and podcasts but spending less than 10 hours a week scrolling or listening. And they’re not heavily engaged with newspapers or magazines.
What are they watching? Amazon Prime Video is one of their top streaming platforms. Their top TV networks are Nat Geo Wild, Nick Jr., and Nick at Nite. Learn about the ways CTV will benefit your campaign and how Resonate will empower you to craft unified digital strategy that seamlessly integrates CTV with your broader campaign efforts.
Tips to Craft Your Messaging
When developing your creative and messaging, you want to use themes that will resonate with this audience—which might initially seem daunting considering their wide-ranging concerns. According to rAI, the following themes are in line with the personal values of Americans who support free trade policies:
- Being admired, appreciated, successful, and acknowledged
- Adventure, inventiveness, excitement, and variety in life
- Being assertive, commanding, and confident
When it comes to tariff policies, the White House moves quickly. You need data that can keep up. With Resonate’s high-performance, AI-powered data, you can effectively target audiences based on their values, beliefs, and motivations instead of outdated demographics. Campaigns that use data from rAI—like the insights in this blog—are 31% more likely to win.
Learn how you can partner with Resonate to develop winning campaigns.
