How marketers should approach advertising during the US elections

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’re probably well-aware that, come November, millions of Americans eligible to vote will be flocking to the polls to cast their vote in the U.S. presidential elections. For this election cycle, it’s actually projected to be the most expensive one ever in terms of ad spend, at a whopping $10 billionOpens in new tab across all platforms.

With a significant portion of the budget dedicated to top of the funnel ad buys, marketers understandably have questions about how to approach advertising in the coming months. If you’re not sure how (or if you should even try to!) to reach your audiences during the elections, don’t worry: this is our guide that’ll help ensure you can keep responsibly growing your brand, even throughout election season.

First things first, what’s going to happen? 🔮

As much as we’d love to have a Magic 8 Ball that would definitively tell us exactly how marketers will survive the upcoming few months, we don’t have quite that. What we do have, however, is decades of combined experience in the field, which we’re going to share with you today through our top 3 predictions.

1. There will be an information overload

This, in turn, will lead to a lack of appetite and general fatigue from consumers towards being marketed to, increasing the closer we get to the election. The top of the funnel will be going crazy in October, and consumers will definitely feel some of the fatigue. While traditionally, political ad spending has been focused towards TV and radio, digital and social ad spend has been consistently on the rise in the past several years, so that fatigue is more present.

2. We’ll see a slow down in marketing activity

As prices for ad space skyrocket, some brands simply will not be able to (or simply won’t want to) compete if they need to spend significantly more for the same inventory. For those that don’t want to give up entirely, they may be forced to move to cheaper channels like email or PPC marketing. Regardless, it’s going to be a lot harder and more costly to reach cut-through status in the peak of the election period.

3. There’ll be a calm before the “storm"

Before Election Day, we expect that a lot of marketers will lay low or pull back dramatically on spending. With many consumers’ minds elsewhere, a lot of brands will try to get more bang for their buck and wait out marketing for a few days. They’ll also likely be using the time to get ready for campaigns right after the election, particularly Black Friday & Cyber Monday (BFCM).

So, what should you do? 🤔

Honestly, our advice is pretty simple: keep up your marketing efforts. Remember, elections happen every four years, and will continue happening regularly. But while you should keep marketing, there are some things you should do differently to maximize your reach.

1. Look for opportunities when other brands scale down.

As mentioned, some brands will have to cut down on spending, which can be your moment to really shine. A study by Les Binet and Peter FieldOpens in new tab showed that when brands increase their share of voice over their market share, their share of the market goes up. Conversely, less investing in your share of voice means a lower market share. Even if the cost of acquisition increases on digital channels during the election, if you can keep investing in your brand, do so.

2. Lean into creativity beyond traditional media channels.

As CPAs rise during the election period, consider moving away from conventional platforms and channels like TV or standard digital advertising. As these are the channels that will be inundated by political candidates, consider redirecting some of your funding towards more innovative avenues to engage your audiences, like user-generated content or influencer collabs. Oh, and don’t forget to find the right balance between sales activation and brand building using our Marketing Budget Calculator.

3. Make meaningful content that truly connects with your audience.

Now, while you should ideally be doing this always, it’s particularly important during election season: make sure your messaging is thoughtful, empathetic, and ideally not going in for too hard of a sell. By focusing on building your brand, you’ll be able to stay top-of-mind with your target audience and not just shout into the void.

4. Measure brand health at every turn.

What types of messaging will cut through the noise? Which audiences should you hone in on during this period? The best way to answer these questions is to leverage brand health data. Tracking how your brand is doing over time and noting any changes during the elections can help surface shifts in perception or audience behavior so you can adjust your strategy.

A solution like Tracksuit makes this easy by showing your brand performance at every stage of the funnel. You can also view your brand health across genders, regions, and age groups to make informed decisions about messaging or targeting and ensure you stay relevant and impactful.

Equipping yourself with these insights during a busy period like the elections can empower you to make data-informed decisions and have a winning brand presence amidst the political noise.

Is it really worth investing in our brand during the election? 📤 📣

It absolutely is, although you need to toe the right balance between shorter-term performance marketing (driven by existing demand and return-on-investment) and longer-term brand building, which helps to set the stage for what we like to call future demand. Fun fact: we ran a study with TikTok which showed that performance and brand marketing are both needed to drive business metrics.

Put it this way: while shrinking your marketing budget in peak election season may make short-term financial sense, you’re running three very serious risks: losing market share, reduced brand salience, and struggling to return to the level of profitability and sales from the pre-election period. All which will likely cost a lot more to recover from, if we’re being honest.

Know exactly where your brand is going. Request a Tracksuit demo today.