opens IMAGE file You would have to live under a rock to not know that it is campaign season in America! Political ads are everywhere you look, and especially everywhere you go digitally! Politics bring a different rhythm, and with that, marketing changes during this season as well.
We’ve laid out five ways that you can be smart going into this political season that, like it or not, affects marketing for everyone in the marketplace!
- Programmatic Media is more competitive. Most campaigns have major dollars behind them and they are all vying for the top radio, tv, and even online spots. This means that availability for these spaces is much less. Depending on your strategy, you may want to compete and be aligned with ads of a political nature, or you may decide that you want to tone down your current media buys and shift to other types of advertising.
- Make Your Own Space. If political campaign ads are consuming certain channels, making them more competitive, then perhaps you should consider looking for spaces where you can make your own space. Email marketing is a great avenue to do this because you are not competing for a finite amount of ads, or physical space. You can choose when you want to send your ad and who you want to receive that ad. .
- Stand out. While some campaign ads are getting more creative, the majority of the political ads are serious and often negative in nature. Many consumers even start to tune out campaign ads. This is a great opportunity to do something completely different and unexpected. Fun, fresh, and happy messages will do well compared to the serious campaign ads that are filling the marketing space.
- Play off of campaign themes. There are many milestones that happen along a campaign trail. Consumer voting, spoofs off of Super Tuesday, and more are different fun twists that you can do to your advertising to maximize this temporary season of political topics.
- Be Prepared. You have to be aware of the seasonal influx of marketing voices that are vying for consumers’ attentions during campaign season. Simple observation and minor adjustments can help you craft your campaign to fit well into the current advertising world. However, if you ignore the campaign season, you might find yourself paying too much for media space and blowing your advertising budget!
As you plan your marketing and advertising mixes over the next six to eight months, be aware that political campaigns are out in full force. This season influence may present a challenge, but it also may present a huge opportunity as well!