Campaign Advertising: A Waste of Money?
This year, by Election Day, ad spending by both political parties may hit $3 billion, combined. From Deadline Hollywood:
Two Wall Street analysts point to that conclusion in reports this morning that examine the estimated $2.8B being spent on local TV this presidential election cycle from different perspectives. Only about 800,000 voters are even persuadable this year, Wells Fargo Securities’ Marci Ryvicker notes citing information from Kantar Media’s authoritative Campaign Media Analysis Group. Even more startling, she says, “the BEST way to reach such voters is through ‘fringe’ programs such as Jeopardy and Wheel Of Fortune.” Thus far the biggest surprises in the campaign have been that spending is stronger than she expected in Wisconsin, but weaker in Pennsylvania and Missouri.
That's an awful lot of scratch. Although, as you might expect, the political masterminds spending the money may be, um, wasting it:
Meanwhile, Bernstein Research’s Todd Juenger says the barrage of commercials from campaigns and Super PACs could backfire. Advertisers consider it efficient for their messages to hit a target audience about four times. But with more than $1.5B likely to be spent over eight weeks in nine battleground states, each presidential candidate could hit their targets as much as 100 times a week — “an absurd amount,” Juenger says. Here’s the thing: Nobody seems to have studied how viewers respond to ad over-kill. “Given this almost surely unprecedented saturation, it certainly is no stretch to postulate that many viewers will become disgusted,” he says. Why do it, then? “No campaign strategist ever got fired for spending too much on advertising….But you can bet there would be a lot of blame for a campaign manager who didn’t spend every penny they could, and their candidate lost.”
Politicians? Wasting money? I know: you're shocked! But it does raise the question: what's the most effective way to get your message out, without pounding the viewer over the head?
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Jun '12
Re: Campaign Advertising: A Waste of Money?
KC Mulville: Politics is the ultimate racket. They manufacture the problems they claim to solve. Political consultants and political advertising are the same way. They manufacture the reason for their own existence.
Actually, I'm going to try that strategy. I should go into an employer and tell them, look, if you don't hire me, someone else will, and then where will you be?
On second thought, nah. I wouldn't want to work for anyone so stupid as to fall for that strategy. · 50 minutes ago
Okay, tell ya what.
Run for office in your local town. Spend absolutely nothing on advertising.
See how well you do.
Jan '11
Re: Campaign Advertising: A Waste of Money?
ConservativeWanderer
Okay, tell ya what. Run for office in your local town. Spend absolutely nothing on advertising. See how well you do.
Tell you what. That's a nonsense false choice masquerading as a "gotcha" defense.
No one said anything about spending no money. The point is that an escalating ad war has nothing to do with getting your message out. (The message is more than out.)
Jun '12
Re: Campaign Advertising: A Waste of Money?
KC Mulville
ConservativeWanderer
Okay, tell ya what. Run for office in your local town. Spend absolutely nothing on advertising. See how well you do.
Tell you what. That's a nonsense false choice masquerading as a "gotcha" defense.
No one said anything about spending no money. The point is that an escalating ad war has nothing to do with getting your message out. (The message is more than out.) · 7 minutes ago
I don't think so.
The two active camps may be set, but I think you misunderstand the mindset of those who don't follow politics every day. They only started paying attention with the conventions, and Romney needs to do everything he can to reach these people. He can't trust the leftymedia to do it for him, for obvious reasons, so how else is he going to do it?
Aug '11
Re: Campaign Advertising: A Waste of Money?
We seem to have now learned how to make compelling movie length features. This is the first time our side has come up with a successful documentary like 2016. People are seeing it. They may, for the most part, be the base, but the base spreads.
I understand the Chuck Norris movie is also good. It opened Friday.
I have heard that the PAC 1 hour documentary showing former Obama voters is well done. The trailers are good.
It has taken us time to actually get fairly proficient at this, but the longer formats allow for a great deal more education of voters.
Aug '10
Re: Campaign Advertising: A Waste of Money?
It's like lawn signs.
Lawn signs do not win a single vote, HOWEVER, if your opponent has lots and you have none, you look weak and you lose votes, so you have to use them.
It's an exercise in forcing your opponent to spend time and resources on a useless activity. If you've got money and volunteers to spare, then lawn signs aren't a hardship for you, so your goal is to make your opponent waste time and resources.
If it was up to me, lawn signs would be legally prohibited. Not really, but sorta...
Aug '12
Re: Campaign Advertising: A Waste of Money?
Off topic Rob, but I don't know how else to contact you.
A friendly threat: if you ever post a podcast as frustrating to listen to as the 8/23/12 one with John Podhoretz, you and Jonah Goldberg where John's voice was cutting out and disappearing into Skypeland every other word, I'm canceling my $3.62/mo.
Edited on September 15, 2012 at 7:38pmOct '11
Re: Campaign Advertising: A Waste of Money?
Koblog: Off topic Rob, but I don't know how else to contact you.
A friendly threat: if you ever post a podcast as frustrating to listen to as the 8/23/12 one with John Podhoretz, you and Jonah Goldberg where John's voice was cutting out and disappearing into Skypeland every other word, I'm canceling my $3.62/mo. · 45 minutes ago
Edited 44 minutes ago
Try support@ricochet.com ?
Jun '12
Re: Campaign Advertising: A Waste of Money?
Albert Arthur
Koblog: Off topic Rob, but I don't know how else to contact you.
A friendly threat: if you ever post a podcast as frustrating to listen to as the 8/23/12 one with John Podhoretz, you and Jonah Goldberg where John's voice was cutting out and disappearing into Skypeland every other word, I'm canceling my $3.62/mo. · 45 minutes ago
Edited 44 minutes ago
Try support@ricochet.com ? · 3 minutes ago
Or click on Rob's name to get to his profile, and then click the "Send Private Message" link?
Jan '12
Re: Campaign Advertising: A Waste of Money?
Most of my own message-sending experience has been in child-rearing, and in teaching. In both cases, it's all about repetition, which sometimes involves pounding them over the head. Some get it the first time, some, the tenth, some ... well, never.
You can't win, if you don't play. I say, play! Over, and over...
(Disclaimer: not a certified political advisor)