US Elections Break Spending Records on Ads

The President of the United States, the Republican magnate Donald Trump, who aspires to a second term, invests less in publicity than his Democratic rival Joe Biden. However, an electoral race is breaking records of propaganda spending.

By Election Day, November 3, former Vice President Barack Obama is projected to have spent twice as much as Trump on television ads, according to data compiled by consultancy Advertising Analytics.

Trump campaign slashes ad spending in key states

Since September 1, Trump’s team decided to reduce ad funding significantly in several west-central states. They also used this tactic in other regions such as Pennsylvania (northeast). This is the area that could determine their destination in the elections. In 2016, Trump secured his surprising victory over Hillary Clinton by winning several of these states. However, now he now lags behind Biden in the polls.

In the state of Ohio, the president projected $7.8 million on television advertising in September but only spent $302,000, according to data from the consultancy. Biden, for his part, projected $1.3 million for ads in Ohio in September, and he spent it all. 

The Trump team could have reinvested part of that spending in other southern states, especially Georgia and Florida. The latter is a crucial state in the race for the White House. But overall weekly spending is going down in the Trump campaign.

Biden is out-advertising Trump

Biden, who has had fewer public events than its rival, has instead extended the map of ad spending. Especially to states that are not traditionally a priority, such as Georgia. The region has not voted for Democrats in presidential elections since 1992, and according to the political site, RealClearPolitics is a pendulum state.

Is this a smart Trump tactic because he feels he doesn’t need to spend as much in these states? Or is his war chest depleted?

In either scenario, it is a risky strategy, the consultancy estimated.

Broadcasting of television commercials, particularly on media networks, is the strongest vehicle for impact advertising messages. It allows campaigns to reach undecided voters.

The Trump campaign admits that it is using ads strategically and surgically rather than bombarding the media.

Samantha Zager, a spokeswoman for the Trump campaign, stated that there is no point putting television ads in states that they know they are going to win.

The spokeswoman noted that Trump spent less than Clinton four years ago, and still won.

Maybe it’s time the media embraced our winning strategy and started questioning why Joe Biden is unnecessarily overspending on television, Zager said.

However, things are different this year. The stormy Republican is not benefiting from the huge free media coverage he received in 2016.

The new coronavirus pandemic and the days that Trump was out of battle while recovering from covid-19 decreased the number of rallies. Thus, leading to less coverage of the campaign.