IoWHAT is going to happen?
Doomscroll 1.14.2024
Hello and welcome to another edition of Doomscroll! The air is freezing, but the water’s warm (especially when dumped on the magnets). So let’s jump right in!
One Question
Thank you to everyone who answered last week’s One Question about what’s in and what’s out in 2024. I got some responses - including some that I hadn’t thought of before. That’s why I <3 these little weekly polls! Anyway, here they are:
What’s IN:
- Incentivized programs with real incentives (contests, free merch, etc..)
- Rumble
- UGC style ads
- Measurement
- Mugshots
- Hyper 👏 local 👏 ads
- vertical video
- Simple Microsites
- Authentic content
And here’s what’s OUT:
- The RNC and everyone that works with them
- Third party cookies
- The Trade Desk
- Rev Share Vendors
- Targeted Victory
- 7+ p2p passes a week during GOTV
- Pretending you're Trump when you aren't!!
- Matching - ALL OF IT
- Pretending to be someone else in fundraising copy
- The RNC
This week’s One Question is super simple: We all know any good campaign’s content strategy is going to be video-forward. Video-centric. All of the video all of the time. The Biden Campaign is hiring a Video Director, after all. But that doesn’t mean every campaign needs to go out and hire a bunch of pro videographers…so help us out: What are some GOOD, QUALITY video-editing apps campaign staff can download onto their phones to edit videos on the fly for social? There are so many in the app store right now - it’s hard not to err on the side of most of them being trash. So if you’ve used one and like it - recommend it, yo! Share the love, por favor? Muchas gracias.
Who’s Doing What
--IoWHAT is going to happen??
I don’t do much horse race coverage here in Doomscroll and I really want to keep it that way. But what kind of politico would I be if I didn’t go all in on the Iowa Caucus this evening?? Also: Raise your hand if you’re relieved/overjoyed that IT’S FINALLY HAPPENING. Woof.
We know it’s Trump’s to lose. We know DeSantis will probably come in a distant second, with Haley a pretty close third. (Do you love how much conventional wisdom and I are friends tonight??). Although I have been assured we’ll be seeing a “SHOCK TO THE SYSTEM” so who the heck knows, right?
On the advertising front, Trump spent the most on Facebook ads in Iowa over the last week. And from what I can tell, his ads are mostly promoting recent events in the Hawkeye State and then attacking Joe Biden. AFP Action spent a sizable sum on some pro-Nikki Haley ads, and I have to say I really love the creative I’ve been seeing come out of AFP Action. Who knows if the message will resonate, but aesthetically they’re pretty lit.
Speaking of Haley, Stand for America Inc, Iowans for Nikki, and Nikki Haley have all spent money on ads in Iowa in recent days. This random Iowans for Nikki ad caught my eye mostly because it’s so…random. A healthcare poll? Mmmmkk. Maybe they know something I don’t about voter concerns! The ad Nikki is running in Iowa is also good and emphasizes her different, er, “approach” to politics. “Grit and grace” and all that.
Who else was advertising in Iowa this week? Let’s not forget about Mr. Vivek Ramaswamy! His ads were mostly promoting town hall events, appearances with Candace Owens (groan) and his endorsement from former Congressman Steve King (double groan). Whatever floats your boat!
--But why are mom and dad fighting?
If you, like me, cringe-watched the CNN debate between Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley this week, then you know what I’m talking about. Why are mom and dad fighting? Are they getting a divorce?? Do they not love us anymore?? What is happening??? The one bright spot? DeSantisLies.com
I know Haley got some flack for repeating the website over and over and over again, but you know what? As a digital strategist I couldn’t have loved it more. Do you know how many times I’ve begged candidates/politicians/etc to repeat a url when they’re in the spotlight? Do you know how many times they actually do it? Hardly ever. So Nikki, will you marry me.
As far as the site itself goes, it’s pretty good. It’s simple and effective. But again: Why must mom and dad fight?
--Rand Weighs In
Not that anyone was asking, but we now know who Rand Paul is NOT supporting for president. The Senator from Kentucky posted a video on Twitter on Thursday proclaiming he’s #NeverNikki (again, not that anyone was asking). But, since I do love me a good microsite I do appreciate the effort to go all in on the nascent Never Nikki movement with nevernikki.net. It’s not bad, but I do take issue with the comma usage in this button. Is a comma really necessary here? I’m no grammar expert, but Imma say no.
Sure, I’m nit-picking…but I am who I am!
2024 Roundup
A few more things that caught my eye this week:
Goodbye, Christ Christie. It’s been real.
Speaking of Christie, who doesn’t love a good hot mic moment? (Even if it wasn’t an accident?)
Vivek went back on TV. LMAO
He also posted a 6-minute long video on Twitter. I didn’t sit through it because when I’m scrolling Twitter I have the attention span of a goldfish…but maybe you will!
Just a heads-up: Asa Hutchinson is still hitting the campaign trail.
Gov. Larry Hogan is backing Nikki Haley.
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum is backing Trump.
Trump went after Vivek on Truth Social. LMAO
Who’s Spending Where
From January 5-11, the top conservative spender on Facebook ads was AFP Action at just over $328,000. Liberty Defender Group spent $138,000 on pro-Trump ads, including some slinging Trump gold coins. AIPAC came in 3rd place with $92,000 on a mix of lead-gen ads and anti-Hamas ads. Some of their lead gen have “Thank Joe Biden” on them, but I’m still considering AIPAC a center-right advertiser. Fourth and fifth place go to Hillsdale College ($72,843) and the pro-Israel Facts for Peace ($67,724).
AFP Action was also the top conservative spender on Google, with a whopping $777,000 in ad spend. SFA Inc. came in second place at $133,000. Make America Great Again Inc spent $42,1000 on ads attacking Nikki Haley, while SFA Func Inc spent $37,800 on ads hitting both Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump. Nikki Haley for President came in fifth place with $35,000 in ad spend.
P2P
Industry Watch
U.S. political advertising spend will likely jump by nearly a third in 2024 over the previous U.S. presidential election year, with TV media again taking a lion's share of the dollars, according to a report by research firm Insider Intelligence.
The figure is expected to rise by about 30% from 2020 to $12.32 billion this year, the report said. Ad spend on traditional media, most of which is TV, will rise 7.9% and account for 71.9% of all spend.
…
Digital platforms, which have historically drawn only a small chunk of political ad dollars, are expected to see a spike of 156% from 2020, with Meta Platforms and Google both expected to see strong growth. While political ad spend is a small contributor to Google's total ad revenue, it is expected to more than triple to $553.2 million as more marketers take to its YouTube platform.
The Grapevine
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has a burner account on Twitter.
I think you all know where I stand on the great TikTok Divide of 2024, but I’m nothing if not a FAIR RULER, so give a listen to Eric Wilson’s latest podcast episode and hear the other side.
The deadline to submit entries for the Reed Awards is next Friday! Get to it!
Got a tip for The Grapevine? Job announcement? Job opening? Fav Christmas carol? Email ‘em to me at itsthedoomscroll@gmail.com
Last But Not Least
From the other side of the aisle:
I kind of love that Team Biden got scared into spending money on a write-in campaign in New Hampshire. LMAO, right? Anyway, something called Granite for America (weird name, right? I didn’t know we needed Granite!) is running a bunch of ads on Facebook explaining to voters who to write in Joe Biden by January 23. If nothing else, they’re very pretty ads. The website is very pretty too. But I’ve come to expect nothing less creatively from our friends on the other side of the aisle. It’s also interesting that the site only asks to collect visitors’ phone numbers. Not emails. Yes, I signed up. Yes, I’ll be waiting with baited breath to get texts from Granite for America.
P.S. An interesting closing in a fundraising email from Jeff Jackson. H/T Josh Klemons.
From the other side of the tracks:
I enjoyed this piece in Vox about the Stanley cup craze, even if I did disagree with the “expert” quoted said the cups “really aren’t great.” YES THEY ARE.
What is Stanley selling, exactly, if not excellent vessels for drinking? Aesthetics. Status. They’re selling aesthetics and status to us basic b’s. Take from that what you will.
That’s all for this week. Thanks for reading! Did you like it? Consider forwarding to your friends!