Political Ad Spending in 2020: A Case Study In Piss Poor ROI

Big buckets of money were brought to the table by both political parties during this election cycle.

CNBC reports that Michael Bloomberg spent $1 billion on his primary run for president that ended up winning only a few dozen delegates. He then spent $100 million in Florida, Ohio, and Texas on behalf of Joe Biden and other Democrats—all states that the GOP won. CNBC characterizes it as a “major blow.” I’d counter that the man has $54 Billion to work with, so a “major blow” seems a bit overstated.

Here’s another take from a well-known media person:

Amy McGrath and Jaime Harrison raised a combined $199,004,686 and lost to Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham by a combined 35 points.

— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) November 4, 2020

A friend sent me the above Tweet yesterday and asked me if advertising was dead? I said it’s far from dead at all, but money buys reach and frequency.

Highly effective messaging can also be purchased, but it’s often overlooked and thus poorly rendered by the marketer in question.

Reach and frequency also become problematic when the message is off-key. The more the ads get served the more friction a candidate creates with viewers who are tired of seeing it and viewers who never wanted to see it in the first place.

Best Political Ad of the 2020 Cycle

I could see this ad each evening during my viewing window and be happy about it.

I strongly identify with the message and it’s a well-made spot.

This line, in particular, is a whip: “She prosecuted sex predators. He is one.” A whip that needed snapping on a daily basis. Sadly, that did not happen. So here we have a message that needed reach and frequency but didn’t get it.

Where the Money Was Spent and How

According to an analysis of Kantar Media’s Campaign Media Analysis Group data through Oct. 25, the top three TV markets for presidential political ad spending on TV were Phoenix; Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne, Fla.; and Tampa-St. Petersburg (Sarasota), Fla. Not far behind was Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., making Florida one of the most targeted states for presidential ad spending.

Both presidential candidates spent over 40% of their political ad dollars on broadcast TV, with Trump spending $174.6 million and Joe Biden spending an estimated $249.9 million from April 9 through Oct. 25.

The Trump campaign spent more on digital advertising than on broadcast TV during the period.

What’s with All the Email and Texting?

When you give money to a candidate, you instantly become a target for dozens of campaigns that email and text relentlessly. STOP.

Campaigns clearly feel entitled to aggressively pursue their email and texting behavior. I’d love to see their unsubscribe numbers. I unsubscribed from dozens of emails and texts in recent weeks. How about you?