Election Campaign Guide: Conquering Five Challenges in Political Advertising
If you've tuned into a TV or scrolled through social media recently, chances are you've encountered a political ad promoting the 2024 election. This year marks a notable milestone, with almost $11 billion invested in political campaigns, a record-breaking figure. Regardless of the political climate, the stakes continue to rise when it comes to spending on campaign ads.
For technology companies like mine, operating within tightly regulated sectors such as politics necessitates tackling challenges head-on, ultimately resulting in better strategies and a blueprint for long-term success.
To achieve long-term success in this rapidly evolving industry and in verticals like politics that are inherently uncertain, it's crucial to critically analyze available insights so you can create innovative strategies.
Let's examine five major hurdles that political advertisers on both sides of the political spectrum faced during this recent election cycle and how employing effective strategies, similar to a well-structured workout program, helped them overcome these challenges and achieve their campaign objectives.
1. Limited Partners Accepting Political Advertising Business
Tensions ran high this year, resulting in cautiousness among several industry players. With some platforms outright banning political advertising and others imposing stricter regulations, political advertisers were forced to navigate new avenues to scale their campaigns. In essence, this means finding partners who are not only willing to allocate resources but have the capability to scale, pace, and implement these strategies effectively.
When seeking the right partner, it's essential to approach the process strategically. Scaling isn't always a straightforward process, particularly when inventory is scarce, and it's even more limited in the political sphere. To guarantee success in the partnerships you undertake, search for specialists in verticalization. Identify individuals who comprehend the industry inside out. This can lead to scaled achievements.
Consider evaluating whether the potential partner has a proven track record in that vertical. This can be done by examining the inventory and establishing a structure that incorporates both owned and partnered data. Owned and partnered data facilitate more targeted advertising and allow campaigns to reach voters more effectively. Taking it a step further, aim to partner with companies that can leverage the pool of data and have the foresight to recognize connections.
2. AI and Regulatory Changes
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a buzzword across multiple industries, but the political sphere introduces unique risks. The topic of authenticity versus AI-generated advertising was heavily debated in this year's election, prompting new guidelines in California to regulate AI-generated content and potentially malicious ads.
While staying ahead of the curve in AI regulations may not be a widespread concern at present, new regulations could have broader implications in the upcoming year. The key to tackling this issue is to adopt a proactive approach, promptly identifying and removing inauthentic ads, and keeping abreast of evolving regulations to ensure that campaigns maintain credibility and transparency.
3. Rapidly Shifting News Cycles
Social media's influence on the news cycle has intensified, making real-time adaptability a necessity for successful ad strategies. As campaigns evolve swiftly, it's crucial to have a team and platform ready to adjust tactics immediately. This ability to modify strategies in real time can spell the difference between squandered opportunities and impactful messages.
4. Connecting With Voters Online and Offline
Incorporating an omnichannel strategy is time-tested, but this year demonstrated its value in political advertising by blending traditional, e.g., door-knocking, tactics with digital resources. This integrated approach allows campaigns to tap into opportune moments and personalize messages across various platforms.
5. Restrictive Parameters and Inventory Scarcity
Connected TV (CTV) inventory faced numerous challenges in 2022. Walled gardens emerged as a significant challenge, increasing the chance of pre-sold inventory turning into missed makegoods. While consumer brands can typically tolerate missing spots that are remunerated at a later date, in the political realm, timing is crucial. Spent dollars that don't bear fruit during election periods are a wasted investment.
Advertisers aiming to deliver campaigns during critical election windows utilized vertical DSP partners to scale their CTV campaigns within premium inventory and actionable audiences.
The primary challenge I've observed in scaled campaigns stems from limited inventory. Time and again, inventory, specifically in CTV, is pre-sold, only for dollars to be allocated without the delivery of promised buys. Avoid this pitfall by working with suppliers that offer a diversified inventory, thus eliminating the scarcity issue that comes from placing all of your buys in a single basket. A diversified buy equals a savvy buy.
Given that none of the challenges mentioned above are likely to recede in the near future, having a strategy to overcome them will be crucial for future political campaigns. A refined strategy will simplify achieving campaign objectives and enhancing advertiser return on investment.
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- In the realm of political advertising, Kris Qiu, a pioneer in the industry, highlights the importance of seeking strategic partners who have a proven track record in verticalization and a strong understanding of the political vertical to effectively navigate limited partners and inventory scarcity.
- As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to evolve in the political sphere, Kris Qiu emphasizes the need for adhering to new regulations and staying ahead of potential malicious ads to maintain credibility and transparency in campaigns, ensuring their messages are seen as authentic.
