Values vs. Vibes
Doomscroll 8.11.2024
Hello and welcome to another edition of Doomscroll! For those of you who have been kind enough to ask, yes the baby is doing well. My plan to spawn and nurture a future Republican voter is all going according to plan. When I asked him his gender the other day for the thousandth time, he smacked me in the face with a MAGA hat. Now, let’s get to some doom scrolling!
One Question
Thanks to everyone who answered last week’s One Question about fundraising slumps in the summer! Sixty percent of you said you have not been experiencing any kind of summer fundraising slump. Excellent. Glad to hear it! Zero said “a little,” which means 40% said yes, you are experiencing a downturn. As far as any tips or tricks you all were willing to share, here’s some of the comments I got:
Our clients have been doing more meaningful and personal approaches and video for the first half of the year and we didn’t go too hard. We never do scammy asks or any “hurry give $5 before we all die!” Asks. We’ve stood out amongst the noise by keeping people interested.
If you’re not raising money by now, you’re doing it wrong. Donors are leaned on and giving. This will continue railing into Election Day. Now is the time that fundraising is exploding!
Ignoring any trump/harris content - long form surveys have been an absolute killer this summer
Show, don’t tell. Way too much telling going on. If stuff is bad, show me - with numbers, with anecdotes, with examples. Use visceral language I can relate to, not spooky evergreen “the world will end by 11:59PM tonight unless I give $5 immediately”… until tomorrow, that is, when 20 agencies send me the same email again. Focus on benefits (outcomes), not features. Focus on how funds will be used and what pain donors are solving with it. Only 90 days left and summer fundraising sucks. Gotta up our game and give donors a compelling reason to give for the 5th 6th or even 7th time.
This week’s One Question is pretty simple: We’ve all seen the stories lately about how Democrats are outspending us on digital platforms right now at the presidential level. (see below). And while I haven’t run any hard numbers myself, I believe it’s true across the board. Democrats are spending more overall on digital platforms up and down the ballot. So what gives? Are we going to endure another cycle in which the left takes digital spending - digital in general - more seriously than us? Why are we being so out-matched in the spending game?
Who’s Doing What
—Vibes vs. Values
It’s pretty clear by now that we know how this election is going to be won or lost: if the American electorate, in its infinite wisdom, decides to vote on vibes or values in November. If it’s vibes, well, we can all start practicing saying “Madam President.” If it’s values, then I’m confident Trump can pull it off. In other words, if voters can set aside the meme game and remember that under the Biden-Harris administration, inflation went up, the world fell apart, and eleventy-billion illegal immigrants poured through the southern border…then we have a chance. Like I said: values vs. vibes. Trump, I think, gets it (recent events notwithstanding). So do Republicans at large. While the GOP is doing its part to dabble in the internet culture wars, we are prosecuting the case against Kamala Harris. The other side, meanwhile, is busy Winning The Internet, gaslighting on the nominee’s record, getting stupid coverage from their journo buddies, and pretending they like camo. It’s a tale of two cities, er campaigns, and one of them is making us dumber for existing. The end.
—The Spending War (or lack thereof)
We’ve seen the stories. Here’s Axios:
Democrats have poured nearly twice as much cash into political ads this cycle ($325 million) compared to Republicans ($181 million), according to the latest projections from AdImpact, a political advertising analysis firm…By the numbers: Democrats so far have spent the bulk of its advertising dollars on digital properties, such as Google and Facebook.
And more from AdWeek:
As for where the money is going to go, the recent past might offer some direction.
So far this year, Democrats have invested most in digital platforms, followed by broadcast television and connected TV (CTV), according to AdImpact. Republicans, by contrast, have set aside their greatest share of funds for broadcast. The only medium where Republicans have outspent Democrats is satellite, with the former pouring $2.9 million into the channel compared to $0 from the latter.
From my own perspective: Every week when I check the ad libraries it’s the same thing. Democrats are spending huge sums of money, while our side pales in comparison. I’d love to do a more thorough analysis of this in the near future but for now I’m just here to sound the alarms. Money isn’t everything, but I continue to believe spending big - and early - is important. That’s just me. GOP consultants may disagree, but maybe us digital operatives also know a thing or two about deploying dollars. Am I wrong? HMU over email and let me know. itsthedoomscroll@gmail.com.
—Not Tim Walz
Ok so it took about 5 seconds for the dirt on Tim Walz to be dug up, so to speak. IMO, the stuff about his military record has the potential to be pretty powerful. Jury’s still out. BUT I did like the effort I saw on X of other current and former service members posting pictures of themselves with the caption “Me not being Tim Walz.” Will it penetrate or make a difference? Don’t know, but I like the effort.
—What…Is Going on?
With America PAC? It seems like every week there’s a negative story about this PAC. Who saw this from NBC?
The North Carolina Attorney General’s Office said Monday that it is eyeing a political action committee created by billionaire Elon Musk following a complaint to the state election board over the PAC’s collection of personal data while failing to help users register to vote as promised.
…
The new inquiries and a similar one announced Sunday by Michigan’s secretary of state’s office follow a report by CNBC that Musk’s America PAC was asking website users in battleground states for personal data — such as ZIP code, full address and a phone number — under the pretext of helping them register to vote without doing so.
In contrast, users of America PAC’s site in states that are not considered competitive in the 2024 election were directed to voter registration pages for their state.
Who’s Spending Where
P2P
Industry Watch
Struggling to grow on Instagram? This blog post has some really, really good tips. Some stand-outs:
Do Q&A’s. Instagram makes this so easy to do. Do it!
Focus on content that will be shareable
Cross-promote with other accounts
Create a consistent aesthetic
No go and conquer Instagram! And tell whoever runs J.D. Vance’s account to start, like, posting. :D
2024 Watch
This is where I make note of a few other things that caught my eye this week.
Last week I gave Kelly Ayotte a hard time for her abortion ad. But she has another general ad that I really like. Watch it here.
The NRSC has a great ad hitting Elissa Slotkin for supporting stimulus checks for prisoners. Watch it here.
More Jobs, Less Government has an ad hitting Jon Tester for covering up Biden’s descent into…senility. Not the best ad I’ve ever seen, but the message is spot-on. Watch it here.
Eric Hovde has a new ad tying Tammy Baldwin to Harris-Walz and the Kenosha riots. Again - not the best ad I’ve ever seen. But the message is there…Watch it here.
The ad war is heating up in the Maryland senate race…Read about it here.
The Grapevine
Targeted Victory sued a Republican consultant in Arizona and won.
This partnership between L2 and IQM looks really neat.
More on the GOP probe into ActBlue.
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:
By the time Vice President Harris announced Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate on Tuesday, the website HarrisWalz.com was already taken. In fact, it was snatched up four years ago — and not by either candidate, but by a politically prescient, Brooklyn-based millennial.
High-five my fellow millennial!
The best part about this is that he did the same thing in 2016 with ClintonKaine.com and the Clinton campaign only offered him $2,000 for the domain. LMAO. So he ended up accidentally selling it to the Trump campaign for $15,000.
BRB gonna go buy me some domains!
From the other side of the tracks:
This look at the Speedo logo redesign is pretty cool.
That’s all for this week. Thanks for reading! Did you like it? Consider forwarding to your friends!