Another Week, Another Launch
Doomscroll 2.26.23
Hello, there. Have you been enjoying Doomscroll? If so, then will you share it with your digital friends? Now scroll forth and doom.
One Question
Ok - Time to put on our SCOTUS/philosophical/legal hats. Should tech companies like Google and Facebook be held liable for content that’s pushed by the algorithm?
Thanks to everyone who answered last week’s One Question about running search ads. 77% of you said running search is still a MUST for any campaign on day one. The rest of you said no. A couple cited budget reasons for maybe not running search ads. Someone said this:
Branded search ads are NOT best practice in ads anymore (despite what Google Sales tells you). Many users searching your brand will click on your link even if it is buried under opponent search. Branded search is regarded as high intent. Search is over rated.
Hhmmmm…ok.
Who’s Doing What
--Tim Scott Embraces the Bio Video
Everyone’s been talking about this new ad from South Carolina Senator Tim Scott. It’s being run on Facebook, exclusively targeted to Iowa with a Tim Scott for Senate disclaimer (dun dun dunnnn). The video, which is nearly two full minutes, is titled “Victory Through Faith” and points people to a landing page with a lead-gen form. Solid execution. But! Let’s talk about the video. It’s great. It’s compelling. It talks about the importance of faith, which isn’t exactly groundbreaking when it comes to messaging to Iowa caucus goers. But coming from Tim Scott? It’s completely believable. Authentic. Genuine. Insert buzzword here. Want to feel some feels? Listen to Tim Scott talk about faith.
While it’s not exactly an announcement video, it sure comes close. Folks, this is what I call the “bio video”. It’s the video that helps to introduce a candidate to a group of voters. It tells a story. It explains (or should explain) who the person is at their core; what drives him or her, and what’s central to his or her worldview. They may also include a formal announcement, but don’t have to. The good ones must, at a minimum, answer both “who is this person?” and “what does this person believe?” What I’ve enjoyed seeing over the last couple of cycles is the length of these videos getting longer and longer. There is plenty of creative leeway to extend the length with these. I remember when John Fetterman released his bio video for his campaign for Lieutenant Governor five years ago. Back then, longer videos were pretty rare, and his made quite the splash, clocking in at 2:18. But guess what? It was effective. Here’s a very small roundup of some more recent bio videos and their lengths:
Tim Scott
Victory Through Faith: 1:56
Nikki Haley
Strong and Proud: 3:33
Kari Lake
The Kari Lake Story: 5:20
Lee Zeldin
Lee Zeldin for New York 2:34
Glenn Youngkin
Tested. Trusted. Together: 2:17
A New Leader for Virginia: 7:10
Blake Masters
Blake Masters for Senate: 2:58
Larry Hogan
Leadership: 3:28
No doubt we’ll be seeing several more in the coming months from presidential contenders. The race is on for best bio video and I am Here. For. It.
--The 2024 field just got a little more crowded, and my inner digital strategist cried just a little
Vivek Ramaswamy has officially entered the 2024 presidential race. The more the merrier is what I always say. I like Vivek. I get what he’s trying to do; building a movement makes sense for his brand. But for MOST people, personality only carries you so far; you have to put in the work to convince voters you are a viable candidate. Like it or not, that starts with a solid digital strategy. His initial digital rollout left me a little dead inside. And look, I don’t write anything in Doomscroll that I wouldn’t say straight to the candidate’s face. So here goes.
When he announced, Vivek2024.com redirected to a WinRed donation page. Twenty-four hours later, it did take people to an official campaign website, but what happened before that? Oof. Maybe I’m on a lonely island in thinking this, but it’s poor form to launch with JUST a WinRed page. As a digital strategist who cares about connecting with voters, I would never advise a candidate to do that. It sends the wrong message. (Him: Hey, I’m running for president; now give me money! Me: Woooahhh hold up - are you even going to ask me on a date first??). Time to stop treating voters like ATM machines, am I right?
I didn’t see anything that asked me to sign up for emails or text messages either in the first 24ish hours, which is crucial (maybe I missed it?). There were also no digital ads that I could find. And again- this is a pretty basic day-one box to check. One bright spot: I dig the logo. I really do. All in all, from a digital perspective it all just felt a little rushed and haphazard. Good news is they can only go up from here…right? You can do it, Vivek!
--Jim Banks-ing those endorsements
Rep. Jim Banks was the first to throw his hat in the ring for Indiana Senate. I thought it worth checking out what kind of ads the conservative firebrand is running on Facebook. Is he talking about CRT? Transgender youth? Building the wall? Liberal socialists destroying the Republic? No, no, no, and no. The vast majority of ads Banks for Senate has run since January 1 are endorsement display ads. It’s certainly possible that I’m an outlier here, but I struggle to see the benefit of spending thousands of dollars on graphics announcing State Senator So-and-So has joined Team Banks. Do voters in Indiana (or elsewhere) put a lot of stock into these types of endorsements? Maybe they do. Or maybe it’s all about subtly communicating that Banks is THE REAL CONSERVATIVE in the race, no matter what anyone else says and no matter who else gets in (cough Mitch Daniels cough).
One great thing about Banks’ ads is that they all prominently feature his opt-in SMS short code. That’s great. What’s not great is that I opted into his short code on February 1. Since then, it’s been…crickets. Sorry, just calling balls and strikes over here.
--Hermie Rides Again
Lest you think Doomscroll is only about the digital strategies of national or statewide Republican figures…think again! Raise your hand if you’ve heard of Hermie Sadler. Ok, now raise your hand if you’ve heard he’s running for state Senate in Virginia. That’s right; the former NASCAR pro is leaving the racing track for a different kind of sport: politics. Now, I don’t remember EVER signing up for a Sadler for Virginia email list. Nonetheless I’ve gotten a not insignificant number of fundraising emails from him since last November, which indicates to me that the man’s got a decent digital operation for a local race. He’s also running a number of Facebook ads, although they’re all telling people to like his Facebook page (candidates: please stop doing this). He just released a 60-second campaign ad, too, which you can watch here.
Who’s Spending Where
Top center-right spender on Facebook from February 16 -22, was ::checks notes:: Newsmax with $320,899! Second place goes to PragerU ($125,000), while third place goes to Judicial Watch ($47,000). America Strong and Free PAC - Asa Hutchinson’s PAC - spent roughly $45,000 on ads, while something called Proud Patriots spent $32,000 on ads selling GOP merchandise. And by merchandise, I mean Trump bobbleheads, Ron DeSantis t-shirts, and my personal favorites, the Trump GOLDEN and DIAMOND dollars. Thinking about getting some for my dad…
Things got a little weird on Google this week. An advertiser by the name of Nicholas Perhai was the top center-right (I say that loosely in this context) advertiser, spending money on ads telling people to order their “free gold bar” - which happens to have Trump’s face on it. JAX First came in second place with a 30-second spot tying Democrat Daniel Davis, who’s running for Jacksonville Mayor, to Biden’s border crisis. Next up: Jennifer Dorow (Wisconsin Supreme Court election) Stand for America Inc., and someone named Inmo Khang, who is also hawking Trump dollars (!?).
And yes, Trump Save America Joint Fundraising Committee spent like $100 trolling Nikki Haley in the 50232 zip code in Iowa. Le sigh.
P2P
A sample of the P2P messages I got this week:
Snapchat
So this week I ventured over to the Snapchat ad library (ad library = just another Excel spreadsheet that makes me want to claw my eyes out. ) to see if any Republicans are advertising on that fair weathered platform so far this year. Answer? Not really. The only center-right advertiser I could see was the National Shooting Sports Foundation - the trade association that actually represents the gun industry (fun fact: the NRA does NOT, in fact, represent gun makers). They are running a few ads on Snapchat through Red Edge. It’s interesting to see a gun industry group advertising on a platform that’s known for its younger audience. But, their ads reflect that. One features a gay Asian American talking about finding real solutions for gun safety. Let’s make gun safety cool again!
Industry Watch
Big Tech is getting its day in court. The question at hand, as I understand it, is whether tech companies should be held liable when their algorithms recommend bad content (see the One Question). Axios has a pretty good write-up of the two SCOTUS cases here.
The case against Google comes from the family of a man who was killed in an attack by ISIS. The family argues that Google should be held responsible because its algorithm recommended videos on YouTube that were seen as ISIS recruitment tools. And if people join the terrorist group as a result of what they see on YouTube…and then innocent people die….well, you see where this is going.
I’m not a legal expert, nor am I a tech policy expert. But holding the algorithm accountable seems like a slippery slope that I’m not super comfortable with. But I’m open to being convinced otherwise.
The Grapevine
Per Politico, Jamestown Associates has parted ways with the Trump campaign, and is instead working on Nikki Haley for President
Poolhouse announced some new hires and promotions, including David Johnston as Political VP and Philip Mitchell as Director of Media. Congrats, all!
Also congrats to Ashely Schulte, formerly of Prosper Group, who recently started as State Director for Sen. Erick Schmitt!
Got a tip for The Grapevine? Job announcement? Job opening? Life hack? Email ‘em to me at itsthedoomscroll@gmail.com
Last But Not Least
From the other side of the aisle:
Remember last week when I mentioned all the split fundraising the DNC did last cycle? Jon Tester did at least two this week after announcing his intention to run for re-election. One was a split with Adam Schiff’s campaign; the other a split with the DSCC.
From the other side of the tracks:
Honestly, I love reading stuff like this: How an intern helped the Savanah Bananas baseball team become TikTok famous. I’m not saying you should have your candidate get on TikTok, but I think there are some takeaways here that are applicable to campaigns! For starters, embrace young talent. Key word: talent. This doesn’t just mean hand the keys to the social media car to any random youth laying around. It means recognizing good talent and cultivating it. It’ll pay off; just look at the Savanah Bananas!
That’s all for this week. Thanks for reading? Did you like it? Consider forwarding to your friends!