Elections are an important part of our democracy; however, as marketers they can sometimes pose challenges. Here are the top three things to consider as we head into the home stretch of a big political year.
- Increased clutter – Knowing the local, state and national elections helps gauge the potential ad pressure in your area. This insight guides how flooded traditional and digital media platforms will be. With more messages and advertisers, customer attention is divided across multiple ads, diminishing the impact of each. This fragmentation emphasizes the need for a balance of reach and frequency among your target audiences. Cutting through the clutter is particularly challenging for nonpolitical campaigns, making strategic media planning essential.
- Rising advertising costs – Be aware of political windows, especially if you are using traditional media. Heavy political spending during these times means more advertisers competing for the same inventory, leading to faster purchase rates. Political advertisers often have deeper pockets and are less concerned about costs, driving up the prices.
- Distracted consumers – During election cycles, attention shifts to political news, debates and candidate coverage, making it harder for nonpolitical campaigns to engage audiences. Proactively accounting for critical election dates can help maximize your campaign’s impact across your target audience.
All of these considerations will help you make decisions about when to run your campaigns this political cycle to ensure your messages aren’t getting lost in the political clutter and that you aren’t overpaying for the space.