The Growing Role of Programmatic Advertising in Elections

Programmatic advertising has emerged as a pivotal tool in presidential election campaigns. In the 2020 U.S. presidential election, total digital ad spending reached approximately $1.8 billion, a significant increase from previous election cycles. 

Of this amount, programmatic ads accounted for roughly 20-30%, translating to $360 million to $540 million. This substantial investment underscores the importance of programmatic advertising in targeting voters with precision and efficiency.

Timing of Presidential Campaign Spending

Presidential campaign spending starts about a year before the election and reaches its peak as the election date approaches. The primary season, spanning from January to June, sees increased ad spending to support party nominations in key states. 

After the primaries, spending continues to rise as nominees prepare for the general election. The heaviest ad spending occurs during what is referred to as the Final Stretch from September to the election on November 5th, focusing on both TV and digital channels in crucial battleground states.

Brand Advertisers’ Concerns During Peak Election Advertising

Brand advertisers face several challenges when competing with heavy presidential campaign advertising. One of the primary concerns is brand safety—specifically, the risk of ads appearing next to controversial political content or negative political ads. 

Brand Safety and Performance Solutions

While each brand has unique brand safety needs, there are solutions available to protect brand integrity while still effectively reaching new audiences and driving business growth.

When using data targeting some marketers block news sites to avoid placing ads next to political content, but this approach can be overly restrictive and hurt campaign performance by blocking access to high quality content and ad placements that have nothing to do with politics.

A more effective solution is utilizing page-level natural language processing (NLP) contextual targeting, which allows advertisers to avoid specific contexts without restricting access to quality ad inventory or compromising campaign performance. 

Instead, contextual enables ads to be placed on news publishers with content sections and pages dedicated to other topics than daily news, (e.g., Travel, Home & Garden, Entertainment, or Lifestyle). Content sentiment filters and keyword blocks can be added to further refine ad placements and further avoid negative or controversial contexts.

By leveraging these advanced targeting techniques, brands can protect their image, optimize ad performance, and continue to engage effectively with their target audiences, even during peak election advertising periods.