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Quick programming note: Today’s edition will be a tad shorter than normal, and also - Doomscroll is going on vacation!! Yes, that’s right! What the what!!? As such, there will be no newsletter next week. SAD! Instead, when the clock strikes 7 PM on Sunday, might I suggest you pour a stiff one out for the ol’ newsletter? I will be lying on a beach somewhere Or in a coma. Still TBD.
One Question
Thanks to everyone who answered last week’s One Question about Facebook strategy in 2023. 43% of you said that these days, Facebook is all about organizing supporters and getting them to take action. 28% of you said it’s still about posting engaging content, and the rest of you are split between not caring and…yeah, basically not caring - which is fair! Here are some of your comments:
There are so many channels to reach people that FB is getting less important in the scheme of engagement. Still need it but not the only play in town these days.
I've always approached Facebook as a place to inform our grassroots supporters, not necessarily win any big fights. It's always been a place to build a narrative about who your candidate is. I also have had a lot of success with Organic fundraising posts, if someone follows your FB page, more than likely, they are a supporter. Why pay to prospect them if you can get a donor for free? I will also say, FB has the advantage over a lot of other platforms with their audience matching capabilities (obvi not as much as they once were able to)
Goal of mine for Facebook this cycle is to do more relational organizing and GOTV/grassroots work in addition to posting good content that reaches my audience.
Facebook still gets butts out of seats ... can't ignore it just because TikTok is the new cool kid in town.I have to say, I’m also in the 83%. I get so tired of people on our side promising “the conservative Facebook” or whatever. If you want to flush hundreds of thousands of dollars down the drain, I know a newsletter author you could give it to instead.
This week’s One Question is…kinda-sorta about abortion. THE THIRD RAIL. (read below for why). I don’t want to talk about policy; just tactics. So let me know: is it a mistake for Republicans to NOT advertise/message on the issue when Democrats are going all out talking about how the end of Roe is worse than an asteroid hitting planet earth? I mean, at this point I’m pretty convinced Dems would give up water if it meant abortion would be enshrined into the constitution. All I’m saying is there’s a giant, gaping advertising HOLE in our midst and someone’s gotta fill it. Maybe it should be us? Maybe not? I’m open to both sides on this.
Who’s Doing What
--A policy page to be proud of!
Lots of people have been dumping all over Ron DeSantis’ presidential website, but tell me this is a policy page that doesn’t belong on DeBomb.Com. It’s looooong and I don’t even care. It’s detailed. It’s pretty. It’s got cool graphics. People can scroll to their heart’s content - and they will. Kudos.
--Court. Fight. Action.
I don’t cover groups on the right enough, so I was super excited when I saw this new effort from Fair Courts America: SorosProsecutors.com. Frankly, it’s a nice-looking website; all the key elements are there. The search function is great, and I like the video. The website rollout also looks to be accompanied by a nice Facebook ad campaign with lead-gen ads that go a little deeper into telling specific crime-related stories. I love it when outside groups step up to spend money on messaging like this; it helps build a narrative going into a big election cycle. Campaigns don’t always have the time or resources to message on complex issues, or tell stories about things like rogue DA’s who let criminals walk free (tsk tsk). I hope the budget for this is B-I-G. I also hope that propping up George Soros as a bogeyman is effective. Part of me has my doubts just based on past experience, but fingers crossed Fair Courts America knows something that I don’t when it comes to messaging on Soros.
--There’s a new Senate candidate in town…
…and his name rhymes with peachy.
Former Navy Seal Tim Sheehy is officially running for Senate in Montana, and once again, I would like to inject this candidacy straight into my veins (his campaign is already giving me major Sheriff Lamb vibes). Looks like Push is doing the campaign (they’re also doing Lamb), and once again, they’re rolling out with a serious digital presence. I don’t see any merch which makes me sad, but the website - chef’s kiss - is excellent. So is the launch video. I also want to call out the Issues page; this is how it should be done for a rollout, IMO. Props to everyone involved. And yes, it’s also notable that the NRSC was up with pro-Sheehy search ads right out of the gate. After last year’s results, I don’t think anyone can argue that the party committee should NOT play in primaries. Don’t @ me. (Actually go for it - DM’s are open!)
--Digital Naysayer
I almost didn’t include this item because what’s the point? But then I decided I didn’t want you guys to think I live in a bubble and don’t read the Wall Street freaking Journal. So…Negative Nancy recently penned an op-ed criticizing the digital consultant world:
But the real home run is digital advertising. There is almost no transparency, few measures to audit and almost no way for a campaign to know how the ad money was spent. Social-media spending is fast and loose. No one knows how effective it is, let alone how much of the spending goes toward fees vs. actual ads. Ten percent to 80% fees are possible.
…
Here’s the real whopper: Two-thirds of the campaign’s $69 million spending was for digital ad services—$25.5 million to Scott Howell entities; $13.2 million combined to Campaign Solutions and Connell Donatelli, which are the same firm; and $8.4 million to Push Digital LLC. Another $1.6 million went to WinRed, the site in Mr. Trump’s fundraising email. Was the money for digital ad buying? How much was spent on fees? Was it for digital fundraising? Consulting? Who knows. It isn’t disclosed. And, may I remind you, Mr. Walker lost.
A clown car of presidential candidates gets filled every four years. Those driving the car are raking it in. While being campaign manager can be a prestige position—or scapegoat if the candidate loses—doling out digital dollars is gold.
On the one hand, maybe op-eds like this means we’ve made it as a consultant group - congrats all ‘round! On the other hand…I’ve said from day one that digital is just one piece of a winning campaign’s puzzle, so while it’s easy to diagnose problems in hindsight, blaming a digital consultant is the easy way out. And does it really matter if Mr. WSJ-Op-Ed-Writer knows how much of the $8.4 million that was paid to Push Digital went toward fundraising or advertising? Meh. THAT SAID, the incentive structure here is weird, right? For all consultants. There’s something funky about a business in which a consultant can make millions for not being successful (aka winning). I’m not saying we shouldn’t be paid for an honest day’s work; we’re all doing the best we can here, but still… Email me and tell me I’m being ridiculous: itsthedoomscroll@gmail.com And thus ends this diary entry.
--Big Guns
Has anyone else noticed the the aforementioned Mark Lamb is doing a gun giveaway? Not just any gun: An AR-15. I would LOVE to know how this is being done so it’s all on the up-and-up. I’m certainly not suggesting Lamb’s team is doing anything but following the letter of the law, but as someone who used to work in the Second Amendment space…I know that gun laws are COMPLEX. Really, really complex. I give them major props for creativity, though. For only $17.76 you can get the chance to win a piece of machinery worth “more than $1,400.”
--Just stop
I was a little hard on Will Hurd last week and felt kinda bad about it until I saw this tweet. What the blur is going on here? Where’s the effort, Will??? How can we trust Will Hurd to stop the Canadian invasion if we can’t even get non-blurry graphics. Just asking questions.
Industry Watch
Some good news for my fellow anti-TikTok nerds! A new report suggests Instagram will grow faster than TikTok over the next four years. There’s some stats and data and things to back it up, but basically what it boils down to is this: TikTok is a video app with an unsustainable growth rate. Instagram, however, is an app with a “rich feature set” that plays a more pivotal role in our society. Interesting. While Instagram's user base will continue to grow, TikTok’s will eventually drop off. Interesting, interesting, interesting! That’s one cool fortune cookie.
In other TikTok news, I also appreciated this story about how the company is killing off TikTok Now - its BeReal competitor. BeReal, which died a rather quick and quiet death, was huge last year. Now? Not so much. Let this be a lesson: Don’t chase fads. Don’t copy your competitors. Just do you!
The Grapevine
Google’s Lee Dunn is leaving the company at the end of the month. I don’t know her well, but have interacted with her enough to know she’s a total pro. I wish her the very best!
Speaking of op-eds, Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin penned one for Politico Magazine this week, threatening to go after politicians in Arkansas who use fundraising “match” tactics. Yikes - be careful out there!
Got a tip for The Grapevine? Job announcement? Job opening? Anything at all? Email ‘em to me at itsthedoomscroll@gmail.com
Last But Not Least
From the other side of the aisle:
Dems went SUPER heavy-handed with the abortion ads around the anniversary of the repeal of Roe v. Wade. I mean, of course they did. It would have been political malpractice not to. But it’s also worth noting that it wasn’t JUST a surge around the anniversary. Per Bloomberg, in last year’s midterms, the topic of abortion “saw a 500% increase in mentions in political advertising over 2020…” The piece goes on to point out what we already know: Dems are talking about abortion a lot and Republicans are talking about it…not at all (ok - except maybe Mike Pence). Case in point: The DCCC is (or has been) running abortion-related digital ads against all 31 Republicans they view as vulnerable this cycle. It’s a strategy, and they’re sticking to it.
From the other side of the tracks:
Is it just me…or is the Barbie marketing campaign getting a little out of hand?
Campaigns: Know when to say no.
That’s all for this week. Thanks for reading! Did you like it? Consider forwarding to your friends!