President-elect Trump's victory was driven by gains among young voters that the campaign targeted through a media blitz in the final months leading up to the general election.

Why it matters: It's another lesson in how hyper-targeted communications — identifying what resonates with these audiences, meeting them where they are and engaging with voices they trust — should be a key part of the comms playbook.

• While Trump and Vice President Harris leveraged a mix of traditional and new media channels to reach young, minority voters, the scale of Trump's outreach was bigger and broader.

State of play: Trump won a greater share of the under-30 vote than any Republican presidential candidate since 2008.

• And while Harris won 52% of 18- to 20-year-olds, that was down from the 61% who voted for Biden in 2020. Her campaign also lost ground with independents and women voters.

Zoom in: To reach young or disengaged voters, Trump opted for long-form podcasts and nontraditional media channels.

• Trump's appearance on Joe Rogan's podcast received more than 46 million views on YouTube, while Vice President-elect JD Vance's interview garnered more than 15 million views.
• Trump continued to target young male voters by giving interviews to podcaster Theo Von, Barstool Sports' "Bussin' With the Boys," Logan Paul's "Impaulsive" podcast and appearing on a Kick livestream with controversial streamer Adin Ross — which at its peak had over 580,000 viewers.

The other side: Harris did work to target specific audiences but relied more heavily on legacy media than the Trump campaign.

• Her "Call Her Daddy" appearance received 800,000 views on YouTube.
• She also joined "All the Smoke" and "Shade Room" podcasts.

What they're saying: "With regards to Trump, it seems he was really conscious about reaching out to young men who felt like the mainstream media were not speaking to them," says Rachel Janfaza, Gen Z political analyst and founder of The Up and Up who has been conducting listening sessions with young voters in Pennsylvania.

• "What I heard from many [young male voters] as we got closer to the election was that they appreciated the fact that Trump was able to say what he wanted in a way that really flew in the face of cancel culture — which many of them have grown wary of or resentful of. And the fact that he was going on these platforms, providing an unfiltered, personal look into who Trump is, and not just the issues he cares about, but some stories about his life and his experiences in business and in politics, that resonated with young men."

Yes, but: Targeted communications doesn't mean going direct or skirting around traditional media.

• According to an Axios analysis, Trump sat down for more than 30 legacy TV interviews and two dozen radio and print interviews since becoming the nominee.
• Of note, in the lead-up to Election Day, Trump appeared on Fox News regularly to appeal directly to his base and the growing number of Latino voters watching the cable channel.

Between the lines: The message also matters. Trump's campaign focused on issues like the economy, illegal immigration and crime, while successfully linking Harris to President Biden's record.

• Harris' campaign received backlash for spending too much time talking about Trump and not enough time detailing her positions, dubbing her the "no comment" candidate.

Plus, outside voices were an effective communications tool for the Trump campaign.

• Trump leaned into unconventional, yet very influential, voices that he didn't have access to in 2016 — like Rogan, Elon Musk, Dave Portnoy, David Sacks and Vivek Ramaswamy.
• Harris, meanwhile, relied on the Hollywood crowd that's always had the benefit of scale and reach — like Bruce Springsteen, Beyonce, Oprah Winfrey and Taylor Swift — but ultimately their star power didn't sway enough independents or young voters.

The surrogates Trump assembled were able to appeal to the "frat bro or finance bro culture," says Janfaza, because "to them, many of these men who have built these companies, ecosystems and media platforms, show them a version of success to work toward."

• "The way that Trump was able to include many of these male figures in his cohort was very impactful," she added. "And while yes, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga and Beyonce also have massive, massive audiences, we have to understand that the way young people are consuming their media and entertainment just looks drastically different than it did for prior generations."

What to watch: The influence of non-traditional media platforms and information spheres — like X or podcast networks — are likely to grow under Trump's second term.

• As an anonymous TV exec recently told New York magazine, "A Trump victory means mainstream media is dead in its current form. And the question is, what does it look like after?"

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In a recent "Behind the Curtain" series, Axios co-founders Mike Allen and Jim VandeHei examined what a new administration means for Washington, corporate America and the looming culture wars.

With the fate of Congress still up in the air, there are two scenarios to anticipate:

1. Republican sweep: Trump, with a Republican House and Senate, could institutionalize the MAGA movement, with massive consequences for governance, civil rights and international relations. Keep reading.
2. Trump with handcuffs: If Trump were constrained by Democratic control of at least one chamber of Congress, Washington would plunge into an epic power struggle and gridlock. Keep reading.

Go deeper ... Plus, Axios Pro Policy examines what another Trump administration means for tech, energy and health care policy.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Meta's Mark Zuckerberg and Apple's Tim Cook were among the Big Tech leaders to take social media to congratulate President-elect Trump on his win Wednesday.

Why it matters: The industry is preparing for new policy positions brought by the new Trump administration, though any of them could quickly shift depending on the president's whims.

Between the lines: The reactions of America's top tech leaders offer the first hint at how CEOs are pivoting their strategy to appeal to an audience of one: the president-elect.

• Trump has reportedly been making note of CEOs and corporations he believes have wronged him or backed his rivals.Business leaders wary of retribution have been reaching out and playing nice.
• An analysis conducted by the OCR Network and The Know shows 13% of Fortune 100 CEOs have publicly addressed the outcome on their personal LinkedIn or Twitter accounts.
• All but one of these CEOs are from the tech industry. 

What they're saying: The main message across all of the tweets and posts today is one of collaboration with the new administration.

• Amazon CEO Andy Jassy was one of the first to comment, congratulating Trump "on a hard-fought victory."
• "We look forward to working with you and your administration on issues important to our customers, employees, communities, and country," Jassy wrote on LinkedIn.
• Google's Sundar Pichai, OpenAI's Sam Altman, Microsoft's Satya Nadella Apple's Tim Cook and Meta's Mark Zuckerberg also congratulated Trump on social media.

Go deeper to read their statements.

America's largest companies are talking to Wall Street about the stakes of the presidential race more this year than in recent election cycles.

• 🧠Why it matters for communicators: As we reported last week, earnings season has forced more election talk.

By the numbers: "Election" or "elections" was mentioned at least once in 116 of the 324 earnings call transcripts tracked by FactSet and held from mid-September through the end of October.

• That's an increase from 2020, when 102 companies discussed the election during the same period.
• In 2016, just 67 of the 284 companies that hosted earnings calls in this window did so, FactSet analyst John Butters told Axios.

The intrigue: Only nine S&P 500 companies mentioned the 2024 candidates by name. Trump got name-checked twice as much (6) as Harris (3).

• Roughly 30 companies spoke in detail about election-specific policies. Trade and tariffs came up most often.

Keep reading

Blanca Juti serves as the chief corporate affairs and engagement officer for the French beauty company, L'Oréal Groupe, based in Paris.

• Why it matters: She's responsible for telling the story of L'Oreal and its 37 brands across the world.

🗣️What she's saying: "My job is building trust," she told me over tea near New York City's Bryant Park. "Trust always starts with doing the right thing and doing what you say you're going to do, and then it's about communicating that and engaging on it."

• "Communications is a very strategic function in a company, because you can conduct business more easily if you build trust, and that requires engagement," she added.

📍How she got here: Juti spent more than a decade based in Finland, where she worked at Nokia in various operations, investor relations and marketing roles.

• She then joined Rovio Entertainment as chief brand officer, where she oversaw the Angry Birds brand.
• Before joining L'Oréal in 2021, she served as chief corporate affairs officer at Heineken.

🏗️ How it's structured: Juti reports to CEO Nicolas Hieronimus and oversees a global team of more than 700 who manage public affairs, government relations, external and internal communications, brand communications, corporate brand marketing, and social media. 

🤖Trend spot: As the fourth largest advertiser in the world, L'Oreal is watching how brands are using AI in marketing campaigns — though the company has committed to not use AI for its advertising.

🧠 Best advice: Protect your personal time.

• "I always tell myself, I am not my title. I recently had cancer and now more than ever it's important to look after myself, exercise and spend time with my loved ones."

Keep reading her spotlight in its entirety.

It's almost time for Axios Communicators Live! Our third annual flagship event will take place on Dec. 5 in NYC.

Details: We will feature main stage interviews with ...

• Hannah Wong, chief communications officer at OpenAI
• NFL senior vice president of communications Katie Hill
• Kareem Rahma, comedian, media entrepreneur and creator behind "Subway Takes"
• Google vice president of global communications & public affairs, Rob Shilkin
• And a View From the Top segment with Burson Global CEO Corey duBrowa

What's next: Secure your ticket here with promo code "earlybird" before Nov. 15.

• Feel free to reach out with any questions about the event. Hope to see you there!

"When I was in the TV news business, my old boss used to say: 'The more emotional the story is, the cooler you should be.' The same is true for CEOs this week."