The Weird World of MAGA Merch
Doomscroll 11.17.2024
Hello and welcome to another edition of Doomscroll, your favorite (only?) newsletter covering all things digital on the right. I’m your host, Amanda Elliott. Get in winners, we’re going doomscrolling!
One Question
Thanks to everyone who answered last week’s One Question about whether we should still engage in some post-Election Day introspection. Notice how I used the word “should.” 40% of respondents said YES, we should still have a digital reckoning and 40% of you said NO. I’m so glad we cleared that up. (The remaining 20% said maybe). Here are some of the comments I got:
I answered no because there WON'T be a reckoning because we won. In this business, trends are decided 100% by the winners. The top of the ticket, for good or for bad, defines the best practices for the rest of the part of the next cycle and beyond. There are for sure things that should be reckoned with in the future, but they won't be. And that's fine.
I said no. We won. See Bernie Moreno. Ran very little online and nothing ran on YT. They won. Winning matters not where you spend it.
Candidates with limited resources need to shift mentality from putting first dollar on TV, where they half fund their weight, to fully funding digital first. The best, most efficient dollar in politics right now is programmatic OTT. (Is this advocating for a reckoning? Going to say yes…)
Good stuff, but you guys know how I feel. A little introspection never hurt anyone. I think it’s a mistake to think we can just sail right along into 2025 and the 2026 midterms and expect to execute the same 2024 playbook - especially given Donald Trump won’t be on any ballots. But hey, that’s just like, my opinion!
Ok. Before I move on, I want to reiterate just one bit of housekeeping: I very, very rarely call out agencies or operatives by name. I talk about bad strategies, tactics, creative, and practices - and I’m happy to shout those from the rooftop all day long regardless of who it offends. If I highlight something I think is terrible and you’re a repeat offender? Well, you know who you are. No need for me to shame you publicly in this here newsletter unless it gets REALLY egregious (see: Campaign Inbox). That’s been my policy from day one and for now, I’m sticking to it.
And FWIW, I only bring this up because I get comments and emails somewhat regularly asking why I don’t call more people/vendors/etc out by name. Am I being hypocritical in advocating for a digital reckoning while choosing NOT to call out bad actors at the end of the 2024 cycle? I hope not. You may see it differently and that’s fine. YOLO.
Ok so this week’s One Question is pretty simple: What does everyone think about Trump’s cabinet picks? Don’t hold back! And P.S. I might have put a couple bonus questions in there as well…
Who’s Doing What
—The Weird World of MAGA Merch
If there’s one thing MAGA conservatives know how to do, it’s selling Trump-themed merchandise. Out of the top 10 advertisers on Facebook this past week, 7 of them were pages promoting merch - everything from shot glasses, to Christmas ornaments, to calendars, to energy drinks. It’s weird stuff, but total spend was just over $2.7 million. Yes, that’s right. So who are these people? Hard to say. Some of the storefronts/Facebook pages look to be run by the same company - one based in New Mexico. Other addresses are tied to Austin, Texas and Andover, Minnesota. One of the top merch outlets is MAGA.com, which was apparently bought by a company called American AF for $65,000 in 2022 (they’re the one selling Trump energy drinks). I’d say it was money well spent. Anyway, if you’re looking to get a start on your Christmas shopping…look no further.
—Wisconsin Watch
I’m sure everyone’s seen Eric Hovde’s post-election video. I’m not qualified to comment AT ALL on the race or its results, but I applaud the decision to put it out there. I always think it’s a good thing when candidates speak directly to the voters, so kudos to him. Hovde put out a ton of great content throughout the campaign and while this video is a tad long and pretty freaking somber, I’m glad he made it.
— AFP Proud
For those paying attention, you know AFP Action was a consistent top spender on ads in the 2024 election cycle. Not only that, but the Super PAC apparently tripled its spending from the 2020 election cycle. Here’s more from the Washington Examiner:
A super PAC affiliated with billionaire businessman Charles Koch and his late brother, David Koch, has spent roughly $160 million this election cycle boosting Republicans, records show.
The sprawling independent expenditures by Americans for Prosperity Action were largely made to support GOP House and Senate candidates through canvassing, digital advertisements, mailers, and other campaign-related services… “This kind of grassroots effort isn’t built overnight, it takes years of sustained community engagement and data that’s continuously refined,” Bill Riggs, a spokesman for AFP Action, told the Washington Examiner. “We started as an emerging field program and have consistently grown into a grassroots force capable of contacting nearly 20 million voters in one cycle.”
As someone who paid close attention to the online advertising world over the last 12 months, I know this group made a huge impact, and they deserve a lot of high-fives and credit! Well done.
—WinRed Update
Heads-up: WinRed announced they’re making it a lot easier to shut down and deactivate accounts. See Ryan Lyk’s post on it here. The official guide is here.
—Where the people are
Pew Research Center released a report this week on Americans’ social media habits. YouTube and Facebook are still the most popular platforms, followed by Instagram. One stat I found interesting? If I’m reading this correctly, according to Pew, there’s no big difference between the amount of users on X who lean Republican vs. lean Democrat. I know this is just one study, but if you listened to the media narrative you’d assume X is being overrun with MAGA, red-meat conservative bros.
Who’s Spending Where
P2P
Sticking with our MAGA merch theme…This week’s text shout-out goes to Trump National Committee JFC. The text itself is good enough since it identifies the sender AND includes opt-out language. But man oh man look at that hat. The red and green hurts my eyes, but I’m sure that won’t stop it from selling big time! $47 minimum donation though? Woof.
Industry Watch
Ok guys: This week’s industry expert is none other than Politicoin’s Ken Mika, and he’s talking to us about what to do with you campaign email lists post-election! Maybe you’re a seasoned operative and you’ve done this already. Maybe you’re a newbie who just completed your first cycle and you’re wondering what the heck you’re supposed to do now! Here’s what I would say: Cut back on the Zyn, eat some green veggies, and Keep. Your List. Engaged.
Here’s Ken with some actual advice: “You should not let your email list go dry or dead. Whether you want to slow down on fundraising appeals is entirely up to you. But while we don't recommend that, keeping your email list engaged is the #1 thing that campaigns should continue to do.”
“Another best practice is to take a step back and look at how you segmented your email list and look for different ways to adjust that,” says Ken. “If you did take the burn-it-to-the-ground strategy, we suggest taking this time to begin to re-warm up your list. You could even begin to warm up parts of your list that you may have dis-engaged during the campaign cycle.”
At the end of the day, please, please, please take care of those lists! Your email list is one of your easiest and quickest ways to reach your supporters, says Ken. Not to mention it’s still one of the most effective ways to fundraise! Oh, And don’t forget to clean it up as well.
Good stuff.
Thanks, Ken!!
2025-2026 Watch
Not only did America PAC spend $200 million to get Trump elected this cycle, apparently the work is continuing into 2025! Love to see it.
The Grapevine
Congratulations to Edith Jorge-Tunon for her promotion to Executive Director of the RSLC!
Tim Scott’s rumored pick for NRSC Executive Director may be sparking a “war” between the committee and Trump world…the knives are OUT. Oh and Matt Gorman got the Laura Loomer treatment. Lucky him!
Kate Holliday has a great piece at C&E about 2024’s winners and losers. Read it here.
I also liked this post from the Relational Republican about building a relational organizing campaign.
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:
The fallout over the Harris campaign debt continues! From NBC News:
If Kamala Harris' campaign was known for anything, it was its blockbuster fundraising. In just a matter of months, it crossed the $1 billion mark, in a stunning and record-breaking pace.
Now, less than a week since the vice president conceded the contest, it not only has run out of money, it’s still asking for more. The campaign emails and texts, known for their ubiquity throughout the election, aren’t expected to stop anytime soon. … One senior campaign official called the practice of asking supporters for more money after losing decisively and having taken in so much money as “appalling” and another described it as “disgusting.” A third person who was flooded with complaints from donors questioned how Democrats could save their credibility moving forward.
What a mess. But honestly, it’s starting to sound like campaign spending was mismanaged from top to bottom and any and all sympathy is in extremely short supply. They deserve all the scrutiny.
From the other side of the tracks:
At its Unboxed conference in Austin last month, Amazon Ads rolled out interactive shoppable ads for Prime Video in North America. Consumers can add items from the ads to their Amazon carts, ask Amazon to notify and email them about products, or book appointments with businesses using their remote or by scanning a QR code.
The interactive ads are just the latest addition to a growing shoppable TV realm as streamers like Netflix, Paramount+, Peacock, and Roku aim to make it easier for consumers to make purchases directly from ads on their TV screens.
I’m pretty sure I’ve talked about shoppable ad formats before, but I am curious if this will ever become a *thing* in political advertising. The thing about OTT/CTV is that they’ve generally been reserved for persuasion or GOTV. And while voters are sick and tired of being hit up for money…their streaming device may just become another place where they’re hit up for money by campaigns - if we have any say, that is! Amirite? Ha. I mean, I guess it’s just a matter of slapping a QR code onto an ad that links to some merch…Has anyone ever tried it? If so, HMU.
That’s all for this week. Thanks for reading! Did you like it? Consider forwarding to your friends!