Axios: Money still pouring into election ads
Like every presidential election in modern history, broadcast television advertising will be the most prominent form of marketing at $3.5 billion, followed by digital ($1.8 billion), cable ($1.2 billion) and radio ($0.2 billion), per the report from Advertising Analytics and Cross Screen Media.
Political advertising around the 2020 election is expected to reach $6.7 billion this cycle, up 12% from initial projections of around $6 million, according to a new report. Nearly $2 billion will be spent on digital video, primarily on Facebook and Google.
Why it matters: The pandemic has forced campaigns to shift budgets from in-person campaign events, like canvassing and town halls, to digital advertising and virtual events. This has expedited a growing shift from traditional campaign marketing to digital.
Details: Like every presidential election in modern history, broadcast television advertising will be the most prominent form of marketing at $3.5 billion, followed by digital ($1.8 billion), cable ($1.2 billion) and radio ($0.2 billion), per the report from Advertising Analytics and Cross Screen Media.
But digital has closed that gap this year substantially compared to previous cycles. Digital video advertising at $1.8 billion represents more than double what was spent during the 2018 cycle — $74 billion.
By the numbers: Excluding Michael Bloomberg's enormous ad spend, $1.5 billion has been spent so far on the primary, nearly 2x that of any other cycle.
That's more than $1 billion over what was spent at this point in 2016 and 2018.
So far, two-thirds of all ad dollars have been spent on "direct response" ads online (ads that try to get you to donate or sign up to volunteer for something via a click).
Investment in "persuasion" ads, which are typically longer, emotionally appealing video ads seen on television, will increase later in the cycle.
Be smart: A huge spike in online fundraising, from both Democrats and Republicans, can also be credited with an increase in advertising this cycle.
What's next: While a cumulative $2.19 billion has been spent during the 2020 cycle, $4 billion more still needs to be spent.
More of the cycle's total cash is expected to be spent in the final 10 weeks leading up to the race on persuasion TV ads. So far, $443 million in advertising has already been reserved for fall 2020.
