Tips to Avoid the Pitfalls of Advertising during a Political Year

You can get bumped even if you’ve paid for it.

As we move forward into the 2012 election year, there are several things to be aware of in the world of broadcast advertising. There are specific political windows that will have an impact on our clients’ advertising schedules. The two key dates to keep in mind when scheduling advertising during a political year are the primaries and the general election. In Iowa, the caucus is Jan. 3 and the Presidential election is Nov. 6. The political window for a primary is 45 days prior to the election date and the general election is 60 days prior, so plan accordingly.

Broadcast Television

Television advertising is the main concern. During a political window, political advertisers buying broadcast television time are entitled to the lowest unit rate, which could lead to rate increases prior to the political window. They also have the right to reasonable access, which means stations cannot refuse candidate ads. This could affect inventory and availability for other advertisers. All dayparts are affected by political advertising; however, the news dayparts will experience the greatest impact. A daypart is a period of time in a day during which TV and radio stations broadcast programs. Here are a few tips to navigate this crazy season:

• Avoid the last two weeks of the political window if possible and adjust your daypart mix around news programming.
• Purchase broadcast television early before the rates increase.
• Plan for pre-empts, regardless of how far out your schedule has been placed.

Cable Television

Political advertising has increased in cable television, but because cable has greater availability, rates are less likely to be impacted on local cable. The major news networks such as Fox News, CNN and MSNBC will be affected by political advertising much more than the broader networks so look at your audience demographic and see if those broader networks can work for you.

Radio

The political windows remain the same for radio advertising. But because there is less political ad spending on radio than on television, there is less concern regarding radio inventory. Political advertising tends to be focused on news/talk stations rather than on music stations, which works to most businesses benefit. In general, any added value opportunities or bonus commercials, more than likely, will not air during a political window, because that affects the lowest possible unit rate that political advertisers are entitled to. The reality is, the closer it gets to Election Day, the more difficult it becomes for our clients’ to maintain their advertising schedules. If you do not use a professional media buyer, make sure you talk to your reps so you are not surprised about being “bumped” due to political season.

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