Anonymous Easter Bunnies
Doomscroll 3.31.2024
I want to start off today’s newsletter by wishing you all Happy Easter. I hope your Sunday has been blessed, restful, and filled with caramel-Cadbury eggs. If you’re Team Peeps, just go ahead and unsubscribe.
One Question
Thanks to everyone who answered last week’s One Question about influencer campaigns. 69% of you said that yes, influencers should have to disclose if they’re being paid to post - regardless of the platform. I wholeheartedly agree. In terms of other thoughts you all had, well, let’s see some of those!
If a traditional political ad has a disclaimer this should have one too
It’s a powerful tool to use but it can backfire so quick if not done correctly.
I fully support this. I recall speaking to a firm and being surprised that a number of influencers were for sale. I had (wrongly) assumed that right-wing influencers would understand that honesty was their currency and the instant their wider audience understood they were being bought by politicians it had the potential to erode their influence. The influencer appeal in politics is that it's someone giving their real takes on a situation, not fake ones driven by cash (or clicks). I'd be curious the reaction if this went through a FEC vote (or Congress) and how much public pushback there would be. On a related note - LibsOfTikTok should probably give up on doing more campaigns for Angel Studios or Public Square. The tweets are so out of place that they're obviously sponsored content.
If it’s political in nature sunshine laws should apply if it is a paid ad. If it isn’t a paid ad no need for organic attaboys.
Hate them, but necessary
just another form of advertising. less targeted
Can we please get educated influencers, not necessarily the most beautiful or the loudest people? Some of these wanna-be talking heads sound so stupid. They can't talk about issues beyond bumper sticker platitudes or the general talking points the GOP has been running with for the same 30 years. Only reason they get the exposure is because they're hot or they know the right people. Not necessarily because they're the best at talking about the issues ie. conservative popularity contest
One-click away disclosure is fine if not viable on the post itself - there are parallels for that.
I’m liking this discussion. I think there’s definitely a time and place to use paid influencer campaigns, but it irks me when I see content that’s obviously paid and there’s no disclosure. And honestly, what’s the downside to disclosing that you’re getting paid? Huh, Benny Johnson? Every single influencer I follow on the ‘gram, for example, is up front when their content is sponsored and you know what? As a user/follower, I don’t give a shit. Great - you’re getting paid! I’m no more or less likely to click on a link if I know you’re getting paid to post it.
P.S. I don’t mean to single out Benny - he’s just the first one who comes to mind (wonder why!).
Ok, this week’s newsletter has a bit of a theme: The desperate things we do to raise money online. Seriously, it’s getting bad, folks. But more on that below. Here’s what I want to know for this week’s One Question: What are you - and your digital teams - focusing on right now that is NOT fundraising-related? Is it producing good, organic content? Managing grassroots email programs? Prospecting? What is it? We’re digital operatives and we’re more than just fundraisers, gosh darnit!
Who’s Doing What
—Blessed are the Bible-buyers for they shall inherit…another 4 years of Trump?
Either Trump is really just THAT desperate for bucks or he’s been born again. Either way, this is weird, right? Selling Bibles? Normally, I high-five anything - and I do mean ANYTHING - on the merch front that’s even a little bit creative. But I don’t know about this one. Still, I guess I should give props for the delivery. I mean, he’s really selling it. Apparently, none of the proceeds are actually going to the campaign, but he's’ gotta be getting something for this endorsement, right? Is he being paid as an influencer to hawk this Bible? Donald Trump: The ultimate influencer! Who knows - if you do, HMU.
One other thing I did notice from the Trump fundraising world this week: some new Facebook ads telling people NOT to donate if they can’t afford to. Clever. I see that nice, reverse psychology at work! Actually in all seriousness: I like this copy. It’s creative and different!
—Is MTG telling the truth?
Marjorie Taylor Greene has been fundraising off her motion to vacate Speaker Mike Johnson (I mean, of course she has). But one email that’s making the rounds alleges that “Speaker Johnson and his team are threatening platforms not to send out my emails and text messages…”
Now, I think it’s safe to assume that this is a bunch of baloney. And knowing what we know about MTG’s fundraising/digital vendor, a scammy tactic like smearing Speaker Johnson to raise a buck or two wouldn’t be all that surprising.
And also, yes, I got a tip from a reader that Johnson’s team most certainly is NOT threatening platforms. So there’s that…
—Anonymous Easter bunnies on the loose!
Seriously, NRCC- what is this?
2024 Roundup
This is where I make note of a few other things that caught my eye this week.
Chris Christie is NOT running on a No Labels ticket. Read more here.
Kellyanne Conway might be re-joining Team Trump? Read more here.
Pennsylvania senate candidate Dave McCormick released a new ad. Watch it here.
Joe Biden’s campaign released a new ad to court Nikki Haley voters. Watch it here.
TikTok is targeting Senate battleground states with a new advertising campaign. Watch the ad here, and read about the effort here. My opinion? Zero sympathy.
Who’s Spending Where
From March 21 - 27, the top center-right spender on Facebook ads was Trump Save America Joint Fundraising Committee, at nearly $400,000. Americans For Prosperity came in a distant second at around $160,000, while the Foundation to Combat Anti-Semitism spent around $86,000 on advertising. Rounding out the top five were AFP Action (around $80,000) and a new (to me) advertiser called American Parents Coalition that I’m putting in the center-right camp. The group spent $79,000 on an ad calling TikTok “one of the greatest threats to our children.”
Trump Save American Joint Fundraising Committee was also the top Republican spender on Google this week, at $719,000. Gotta spend money to make money! Second place goes to Republican Accountability PAC which spent about $60,000 on ads highlighting Mike Pence’s decision not to endorse Trump. Americans for Prosperity also spent about $60,000 on ads this week, and a group called Hoosiers for Opportunity, Prosperity and Enterprise Inc spent around $45,000 on a pro-Mike Braun ad in Indiana. Coming in 5th place is the RNC, which plopped down $28,000 on fundraising ads.
P2P
Industry Watch
Nearly half of Americans are concerned enough about TikTok being a threat to national security that they support banning the social media service or forcing a sale to a non-Chinese company, according to the latest CNBC All-America Economic Survey.
But the poll also found substantial differences of opinion on the issue based on politics, age and those who use the app versus those who don’t.
The nationwide survey of 1,001 Americans revealed that 20% of participants said TikTok should be banned no matter what. Another 27% said it should be banned unless it’s sold to a non-Chinese company, meaning that altogether, 47% of participants support a ban or a sale.
Just over 3 out of 10 people surveyed oppose a ban.
The Grapevine
Texting, texting, 123! Raise your hand if you’re on Twitter and saw John Hall’s twitter storm about P2P fundraising. Here’s just one tweet. Ok, and another one. John makes some good points, and I’ve railed on this before. We need to follow best practices when it comes to P2P texting or we’re going to lose it forever. So here’s my advice, everyone: OPT PEOPLE OUT WHO ASK TO BE OPTED OUT. Holy moly this isn’t hard. If you’re a campaign or organization, reach out to your P2P vendor YESTERDAY and ask them if they are opting people out. If they’re not, fire ‘em.
And just fyi, I showed this stuff to Thomas Peters, CEO of RumbleUp (yes, I have connections there), and he replied with this:
Phone carriers should absolutely crack down on bad actors who do not honor opt-out requests and campaigns should only work with vendors who honor opt-outs.
There you have it. If you have any thoughts on this, or disagree, email me!
Shameless self plug: I did an interview with Wesley Donehue for his Campaign War Stories podcast. Listen to it here, and hear a little bit more about the genesis of Doomscroll!
Got a tip for The Grapevine? Job announcement? Job opening? Email ‘em to me at itsthedoomscroll@gmail.com
Last But Not Least
From the other side of the aisle:
So….some of you may have seen that Democrat Marilyn Lands flipped a State House seat in Alabama this week from red to blue. I hate it when pundits over-extrapolate from one single race and I realize I’m risking the same thing here…but I think this one is worth talking about. Lands is getting lots and lots of credit for winning this seat by running on abortion. Look! Even in deep-red Alabama, people want their abortion rights! Gah, ok. We get it.
Every Republican campaign operative needs to watch this ad. And this 30-second version. Why? Because it’s all voters are going to be getting from the Democrat Party between now and November. What’s our response? Do we even have one beyond “all life is sacred”? What are our testimonial ads going to say? Or are we, as a party, going to pretend like this issue doesn’t exist?
From the other side of the tracks:
Someone sent me this amazing public affairs campaign that’s apparently all over D.C. right now: Hot & Toxic: The toxic reality of “natural” gas. Check it out. I know it’s not necessarily from the other side of the tracks per se, but it’s too good not to call out.
Very nice. Very pretty. Very creative. And not that I agree with the message, but gotta give credit where credit is due! More of this in politics, please.
That’s all for this week. Thanks for reading! Did you like it? Consider forwarding to your friends!