Strata

Study: Digital political spending will soar

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We’re now in election year 2012, and the early indication is what most people suspected: political ad spending will be up versus previous years. Sixty percent of executives at political media buying and ad agencies believe political advertising budgets for this presidential election will increase versus previous years, according to a STRATA survey, while the remaining 40 percent believe budgets will stay the same. An incredible 100 percent say political clients have increased their focus on internet and digital, with nearly a third saying most clients are merging digital and traditional buys for one campaign.

More than 80 percent of respondents cited Facebook as the social media they’re most likely to use for political campaigns, with Twitter at No. 2 and YouTube No. 3. Despite the greater spending on digital, it appears mobile will be a little-used medium for political campaigns. The survey found that 85 percent of executives believe less than a quarter of clients will utilize mobile advertising to reach voters. And as has been the case for years, spot TV/cable will be far and away the most-used medium when it comes to political advertising, agency people predict.