Advertising during an election year gets more complicated every year. The stakes for ensuring your campaign reaches the right people in the right area, with enough frequency, increase with each passing week.
On top of the sense of urgency, political agencies face stringent regulations. In fact, popular advertising channels like TikTok, which reports 170 million American users, won’t allow political advertising at all. Meta, with similar audience sizes on Facebook and Instagram, also restricts political ads.
To help political agencies run successful campaigns, we’ve put together a list of the best strategies. Let’s dive in.
Create Hyperlocal Audience Segments Based on Real-World Behaviors
While most focus on the presidential race, the biggest media buys will happen on behalf of down ballot candidates. Of the projected $10 billion spent on political advertising, 75% is expected to be spent on candidates and initiatives not involved in the presidential nomination.
When campaigns require budgets in the billions of dollars, political marketers need to know they aren’t wasting extra spend on audiences outside their district. Segmenting audiences based on where people live, what parts of the community matter most to them, and other real-world behavior is the only way to decrease extra spend and ensure results.
To be successful this year, political marketers need media platforms with precise audience data and hyperlocal targeting capabilities for every channel from mobile to out-of-home.
Use CTV to Reach Household Influencers
Political marketers also need to consider how to show their ads to households with different kinds of voters. Swing voters who are on the fence about voting at all can make the biggest difference in political campaigns. One of the biggest factors in converting these audiences is the input they get from the people around them. Particularly important are the people in live in their house with them.
A channel like CTV can help your political campaigns in two ways. First, it can introduce audiences to your message on a screen where they are highly engaged. The attention people pay to their streaming platforms is much higher than the level of engagement advertisers can expect on a mobile device.
What’s more, CTV ads can open a conversation between individuals in a house. If you know a household member is dedicated to voting, a CTV ad in that home can help push an undecided voter into action. When you combine CTV ads with other channels, desktop ads, you can start to multiply your meaningful results, like conversions.
Don’t Forget Analog Advertising Channels
Finally, don’t forget to leverage analog channels to get your political ads in front of the right audiences. We know that name recognition is key to getting people to take action on everything from initiatives to political candidates. Tactics like out-of-home advertising and direct mail ensure that voters see your message on their daily commute, on their kitchen counter, and other places inside their community.
In the past, political agencies preferred digital advertising channels over analog ones because the reporting was more precise. They could follow attribution more closely. But with GroundTruth, we provide precise reporting on the real results your teams need, so attribution is never in question. In short, all the dollars you invest will be tracked to real results in your campaign.
Start Reaching Your Voters with GroundTruth
To learn more about how GroundTruth can help you increase your return on political ads, contact us today! We’ll walk you through what’s possible and show you how to get started.
