Display and Video / September 26, 2016 / By Erin Martin
The Politics of Digital Advertising and Make Goods
On many levels, it’s safe to say the presidential election is disappointing. That’s also the case about expected TV ad spend surrounding the election. The lack of campaign and PAC ad spend in key battleground states has caused budget shortfalls for many stations.
Many markets across the country will see a strong month ahead for overall political and issue advertising. Political content will place a demand on TV inventory, opening a digital opportunity for advertisers. Publishers can find success by providing an alternative to an advertiser’s traditional TV audience and introducing them to the value of the digital audience.
Trying to offer up TV spot make goods into a digital video or display schedule isn’t a novel idea, and may not have been accepted by buyers in the past. We think the timing is right to try again and here’s why:
1. Agencies, advertisers, and TV buyers are thinking more about audiences and less about device. Laptops, tablets, television, smartphones, the modern consumer is everywhere and advertisers want to be there too.
2. It’s not just about political and issue advertisers. It’s really about those TV advertisers that have been (or will be) displaced through preemptions or may be sitting on the sidelines, scared off by the expensive TV inventory predictions. It’s time to offer new options that deliver value beyond a 5 for 1 make good.
3. Better reach across devices. Video ad placement opportunities encompass more than the ad inventory on your station website. Desktop, mobile web, in-app, audience extension, and social media options provide audience scale publishers likely didn’t have the last election cycle.
4. Interactive digital video ads allow your clients to opt-in to engage and interact with their message. Exposure and engagement metrics offer more to advertisers than a simple impression, delivering value that linear TV alone can’t provide.
5. The really good transactional sellers and buyers often deal with make goods. To expand their value, they need to continually learn and bring new solutions to every transaction.
6. In this political season it’s likely you’ll sell out of news inventory on your TV station and face giving back dollars to an important advertiser. Instead, consider building a digital make good package. Digital video advertising provides a new audience, interested in broadcast content, and then delivers the TV spot with exposure and interactive performance metrics. Start by offering digital during this political season and watch as it grows into a new media packaging approach to a transactional relationship.
Look to the elections of 2016 as an opportunity to innovate into demand. Whether political, issue, retail or automotive, all your advertisers are looking to reach and engage with their audience. While you may or may not be able to handle all the demand on your TV ad inventory between now and November 8th, even a typical Q4 is a great time to bring a more holistic approach to selling all your audiences and delivering added value with interactive viewers. Make your clients feel you’re “great again” and “stronger together”. You can’t lose.
About the Author:
David Cole, Vice President of Sales and Business Development
David is empowering publishers to capture additional revenue every day with Mixpo’s technology. His combined experience in both traditional broadcasting and digital sales management makes him uniquely able to understand publisher objectives and challenges. He has held sales leadership roles with CBS and Fox television stations.
Learn more by downloading The State of Digital Advertising for Publishers.
