Media Channels to Consider for Your Political Campaign
Imagine you’re cruising down the road, listening to the radio. You’re likely to hear ads for local HVAC companies and car dealerships. Open Instagram and you might see fashion ads, while you might get emails from brands you’ve purchased from before.
Now imagine November is approaching. That means one thing.
Political advertisements.
There’s a good reason for the bombardment of political advertisements ahead of any election. Name recognition can have a huge impact on elections. The more a political candidate can get their name out there, the more recognized it becomes, and the better their chances are of being marked on the ballot.
Whether you’re running for a local or national office, every candidate can benefit from a comprehensive advertising campaign.
Here are some options you may want to consider if you’re running for election.
Political Advertising Through Traditional Media
Traditional media isn’t dead! There are still ways to reach voters using traditional media outlets.
Although traditional media often encompasses things like billboards and print ads, we are going to focus on the technological definition of media, which includes:
- Radio advertising
- TV advertising
Radio Advertising
With so many streaming services available, you might assume that no one is listening to the radio anymore.
That’s definitely not the case!
A whopping 92% of Americans still listen to the radio every week. It reaches more people than television, digital, or mobile. This reason alone makes it a must, but there are other reasons to consider radio advertising.
Radio plays to a captive audience of people who are sitting at their desk or driving in their car and must listen to the ad in its entirety. In addition, as more and more businesses turn to digital advertising, the cost of producing and airing a radio advertisement has become more affordable.
The trick to getting the most bang for your buck is to make sure you’re advertising on the right radio stations.
Narrow down stations based on your congressional districts to ensure you’re advertising to your target audience. You should also identify which radio stations your target audience is most likely to listen to and focus your advertising efforts there.
TV Advertising
It’s true that more and more people are spending more and more time watching streaming services, but that doesn’t mean broadcast TV is dead. The average adult spent nearly three hours watching live TV each day in 2022.
No wonder most political consultants still recommend advertising on TV!
It’s a great way to engage your audience using both sight and sound. After all, the more senses you use when being presented with information, the more likely you are to remember that information.
Although it’s true that viewers can change the channel to skip an ad, it’s also true that a viewer is less likely to change the channel than skip a video they’re watching online, which gives TV an edge over streaming services.
Political Advertising Through Digital Media
Digital media advertising is all the rage, and for good reason. You don’t need a statistic to know that basically everyone is on the internet, but there are some other reasons why digital media is an important piece of the ad campaign puzzle.
Want to target a very specific audience? Digital media is the way to do it. You can divide your ad campaigns up by geography, age, gender, income, education, and more. You can show different ads to different audiences, and you can retarget your audiences again and again.
Access to metrics that demonstrate an ad’s effectiveness is also a plus. Unlike traditional media advertisements, you can see things like the click-through rate, video completion rate, and how many comments or reactions are posted. You can then use this information to make your advertisements even more effective.
Digital media is also one of the most scalable mediums in terms of budget. You can spend as much, or as little, as you want, scaling your efforts up or down depending on how much you’re willing to spend. Even those with tight budgets can boost posts on Facebook for very little money.
Want to target a specific audience? With geo-fencing, you can build a virtual fence around a geographic location—like a polling place—displaying ads on the mobile devices of anyone who comes within range of that area.
Here are a few of our favorite digital media advertising options to take advantage of these benefits:
- Social Media Ads
- Digital Radio
- Pre-Roll Video
Social Media Ads
Social media ads include any advertisement that can be purchased and displayed on a social media website. They include photo and video ads, as well as stories ads, carousel ads, messenger ads, and more, depending on the social media platform you’re advertising on.
Social media is the way to go if you want to create a viral moment or build a movement. You can engage your audience in a conversation, which makes it a more personalized mode of advertising.
Digital Radio
Over 175 million Americans listen to audio online each week, whether digitally streaming, listening to AM/FM stations, or streaming an online broadcast. You can reach them with a digital radio advertisement.
It is a good idea to choose which streaming platform you advertise on wisely, as well as what kinds of stations your ads play on, depending on your target audience.
Pre-Roll Video
Pre-roll videos are a great way to introduce yourself to your target audience. They are promotional videos that appear before a video that the user has selected to play. They are a great way to drive awareness because they appear before the selected video—not after—guaranteeing that they will be viewed. Like television ads, they engage both sight and sound senses.
Let Us Help You Advertise This Election Cycle
There isn’t one single advertising answer. They all have pros and cons, which means the best way to reach your audience is to create an advertising campaign with a combination of advertising techniques.
Contact Sierra Productions for a Free Consultation!
Sierra Productions has 25+ years of experience in advertising, so we know a thing or two about all forms of media. We’ve been creating custom advertising solutions for political campaigns and know how to reach voters. Contact us today to talk about creating a custom mix of advertising options ahead of your election! Click here to learn more about our political offerings and direct mail options.
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