Here’s How Your Brand Can Stand Out in All the Right Ways
As we approach Election Day on November 5th, digital ads from political campaigns will increase as politicians across all parties and offices vie for votes. Advertisers need to understand how these political campaigns can affect their ads, and how to ensure the safety of their brand.
Increased Ad Clutter
Overall, political ads will dominate the media landscape. The channels with the most political ad spend will be broadcast, cable, and CTV (streaming on Smart TVs). The ad clutter can have a negative or positive effect on your brand. The negative: audiences are less inclined to spend time online or watching TV to avoid any political ad, so there will be fewer chances to grab your audience’s attention. The positive: because people will be inclined to scroll past a political ad, your non-political brand will have an easier time standing out.
Rising Ad Costs
Because of the increased ad clutter and inventory fed to platforms (with no increase in placements), ads will cost more. Political campaigns raise billions of dollars and only have a short window of time to spend it all, as opposed to your brand that runs ads year-round. According to Axios, in 2024, $16 billion will be spent, a 31.2% increase compared to 2020. The U.S. political ad market is also expected to become the 10th largest ad market in the world, greater than all of Australia. There will be a 10-20% increase in costs-per-thousand impressions (CPMs) and costs-per-click (CPCs) in the weeks leading up to the election and up to a 50% increase in key battleground states. Campaigns with broad targeting will be affected more because political campaigns have broad targeting due to platform policies.
Economic Uncertainty
Many politicians use the state of the economy to boost their campaigns. Their messaging affects the public’s opinion of the economy. If consumers are not confident in the economy, they will spend less. In general, elections cause uncertainty, leading consumers to be less likely to make big purchases.
Stay Informed
These changes will happen around mid-October, when voting is on people’s minds, and when absentee and early voting begin in most states. Stay alert to any important news regarding local and federal elections, including presidential debates, and be prepared to pause ads if necessary.
Adjust Media Spend
To prepare for the increased ad clutter, increase your overall ad spend in September, decrease ad spend in October when election season is high, and resume your average budget after Election Day. You may feel inclined to increase ad spend in October because of high CPCs, but competing with the political big guns is not worthwhile. Instead, use your dollars more mindfully by utilizing non-political digital platforms or strategic audience targeting.
Refine Your Media Strategy
Not all digital channels will be affected by political ads. The platforms with more rules against politics include Pinterest, TikTok, LinkedIn, Reddit, and Amazon. Google Search is also safe because of specific keyword targeting, but you may have more competition there due to other non-political brands shifting their dollars to search. The platforms with fewer ads will have more political ads include Meta, YouTube, CTV, and DSPs. Overall, use this time to experiment on platforms that may have less competition.
Target Strategically
The more strategic and specific your targeting, the better. Due to regulations, political campaigns have broader targeting. You will have a higher return on investment if you can find more niche audiences using first-party data from your website or social channels. Additionally, ensure your digital campaign goals are engagement-based, not view or impression-based. Political ads focus on getting the most impressions possible, but non-political brands need more audience engagement, such as purchases or leads.
Craft Standout Messaging
Note that organic political content on social media will still be on platforms that will not have political ads. Audiences are highly focused on the elections this year and may gravitate towards political content and engage less with non-political content. Half of adults get news from social media, so capturing audiences there is crucial during an election year. Do not bring up politics in your ads. Even if the messaging is party-neutral, it’s not helpful to mention politics if your brand is not political. To help reduce the uncertainty of the economy from consumers, promote discounts and savings, highlight your brand’s durability and longevity, and avoid terms like “luxury” or “high-end.”
