Doomscroll 1.15.23
Hello, Gen Z
One Question
Have you experimented with Digital Out of Home (DOOH) ads? Would you ever consider DOOH an important piece of your media budget?
Thanks to everyone who answered last week’s question about whether you would buy political ads on Twitter. Out of everyone who responded, half of you said yes and half of you said maybe. Not gonna lie I was a little surprised to get zero “no” responses.
Who’s Doing What
Rendezvous with Gen Z
Is the GOP coming to terms with its need to talk to younger voters? From The Hill:
“We have a tendency to do a lot of things wrong talking to younger voters. One is we don’t go to where they are,” said veteran GOP strategist John Brabender, noting how young voters are increasingly on TikTok.
“Our party says we can’t be on TikTok for privacy and security reasons,” he added. “Well, that’s great, but you better come up with an alternative really quickly, then, because we have a whole generation growing up with that being their number one news source yet we’re not talking to them there.”
I appreciate the sentiment - as should every digital strategist - that we must go where the voters are. It’s our job to use the digital space to communicate with voters, no matter their age, location, issue preferences, or social media habits. I HOPE I’m preaching to the choir when I say I don’t think the GOP should just be ceding this voting block to the left.
Trump 2024
DJT just launched his 2024 campaign website. In a move that I am sure I will absolutely, 100% come to regret, I did as the homepage pop-up asked and texted AMERICA to 88022. The auto response I got linked to a long AF Trump Agenda Survey. I haven’t done a deep dive on the website yet (will I? Who knows), but it looks pretty standard.
McCarthy’s McMoment
A recent McCarthy fundraising email pulled out all the stops to try and get me to donate money: Stop the Biden/Schumer agenda. Support the House GOP’s Commitment to America. Help “House Republicans make it to the endzone.” Stand up for America,” etc etc. All of this in one email. What does “make it to the endzone” mean, exactly? Isn’t the election over? I don’t know. I’m just here reading emails and asking questions.
And on Sunday - mere hours after he won the Speakership - I got an SMS fundraising text from Team McCarthy as well. This one, however, was a little more focused. And by “focused,” I mean it was full-on “I will be Trump 2.0…join me and Trump as we fight to make America great again.” Le sigh. Gotta raise those dolla bills.
Mooney Money
I’m getting lots of Alex Mooney for Senate fundraising emails right now. Mooney is very much leaning into the pro-Trump, pro-MAGA dynamic. One of his most recent emails explained why it’s NOT Trump’s fault Republicans failed to retake the majority in the Senate. Rather, it’s because grassroots donors didn’t step up and Trump-endorsed candidates “were massively outraised by the radical Left’s fundraising machine.” Technically, he’s not wrong. Ok. Trump stuff aside, I get there’s little for candidates to fundraise on right now, so maybe telling donors they were too stingy last year is the best we’ve got?
Gaspocalypse
I kept wondering how Republicans were going to capitalize on Biden’s gas stove ban. Leave it to Team DeSantis to never disappoint!
Who’s spending where
From January 4 - 10, the top center-right spender on Facebook ads was Newsmax ($44,508). Judicial Watch came in second place with about $43,000 in ad spend, while the Daily Wire came in third with about $32,000 in spend. Koch group Stand Together spent around $28,000, while a freedom-in-education group called We Believe rounded out the top five with $27,000 in spend.
Note: I consider center-right advertisers to be Republican campaigns or conservative outlets, advocacy groups, and organizations. I’m less inclined to tag an industry trade association with a GOP label even if it is spending ads pushing for a GOP-supported policy.
On Google, Kelly Craft for Governor, Friends of Ron DeSantis, Prager University Foundation, Judicial Watch, and Save Arizona Fund Inc were the top five spenders. The Arizona ad was targeted nationally and asked people to donate to help fund Kari Lake’s court challenge to the 2022 election results.
Note: This analysis isn’t super scientific…yet. Basically, I’m filtering ads during the date range from highest to lowest spent, and noting the center-right ads. If there’s a better way, please shoot me an email and let me know.
P2P
Here’s a sample of some of the texts I’ve gotten in the last week. Obviously not exhaustive; I’m on a lot of lists, but not ALL lists.
Industry watch
InsideRadio: Analysts Say 2024 Could be First Election Cycle to Top $10 Billion in Political Ads
Reading the political tea leaves, AdImpact says 2022’s election spending suggests the coming 2024 presidential season could be like no other. “All signs point to 2024 easily passing the 2020 and 2022 political cycles to become the most expensive of all time and the first to surpass the $10 billion marker,” it says in a new analysis.
Takeaways + Context
Yesssssss. Bring it on. However I would like to point out that we gotta raise big to spend big.
Bloomberg: Google and Meta Are Losing Their Grip on the Digital Ad Market
Insider Intelligence estimates that Meta’s and Alphabet’s share of digital ad revenue in the US, the biggest market, was below 50% last year, the first time that’s happened since at least 2015. Meta posted its first two quarters of revenue decline ever in 2022, and Alphabet’s sales missed analysts’ estimates three quarters in a row, its longest stretch of negative surprises since 2015. It projects them to continue losing ground in 2023.
Takeaways + Context
RIP.
The Grapevine
Digital Out of Home (DOOH). It’s a thing- or isn’t it? I came across these tips for how to utilize DOOH, which reminded me of something. I tried to buy Gas Station TV ads back in September and was told by my sales rep that they had just pulled the plug on political ads. Why? Over the summer the DNC ran pro-Biden ads on GSTV - at a time when gas prices were going through the roof. Real dumb. The negative backlash from the ads was so great GSTV decided to put a stop to political advertising completely. Thanks a lot, DNC. Wait to ruin it for the rest of us.Did anyone else hear the same thing?
Congrats to Taylor Black for being named Grassroots Director at the NRCC!
Last but Not Least
From the other side of the aisle:
Raphael Warnock’s Digital Director’s Twitter thread about how they “won” online. Blah.
From the other side of the tracks:
A nice reminder from the corporate world that email is great IF done correctly. What lessons can we draw here? ::cough into mic:: Don’t use your email program to treat people like they're just ATM machines.
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Got a tip you’d like to share for The Grapevine? Send it to me at itsthedoomscroll@gmail.com. Feel free to send other thoughts as well.