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Political Media Buying 2018:
Where Does Radio Fit?

Contributor: Leo Kivijarv, Ph.D., Executive Vice President & Director of Research, PQ Media

Last week’s post laid the groundwork for the current state of elections in 2018.  This post covers radio’s revenue opportunity for attracting political spending.

One of the biggest debates on political media buying is the potential shift from traditional media to digital and other alternative marketing platforms. There are two trains of thought.

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Where Does Radio Fit?”

2018 Political Landscape

Contributed by: Leo Kivijarv, Ph.D., Executive Vice President & Director of Research, PQ Media

There are many unanswered questions as the 2018 campaign begins in earnest.

      • First, experts disagree on whether federal and local candidates will emulate the unconventional media buying strategies employed by Donald Trump in 2016 by relying heavily on free “earned media” from tweets.
      • Second, there is still some disagreement as to how much fundraising will rise or fall compared to previous years, given the increase in political activism immediately after last year’s election.
      • Third, some believe analysis of early results of recent elections is a harbinger of the November elections in which Republican strongholds have elected a Democrat, such as Doug Jones in Alabama.

The elephant in the room is control of Congress. Can the growing discontent in the United States result in the Democrats regaining the majority in both the Senate and House? Will candidates and Super PACs raise more money than previously recorded as a result? Therein lies the major driver that will determine political spending during the year. Other drivers that will contribute to the final political media buying total include a high number of toss-up gubernatorial races, controversial ballot initiatives, and the rising interest in which party controls the various state legislatures.

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