Ahh yes, it’s that time again folks! The weather is getting brisk, everywhere you look are colorful banners on street corners and front lawns, and almost every radio and TV station you turn on bears signs of the season. No it’s not the holidays, it’s the 2012 elections, and that means one thing to marketers and broadcasters alike – the political windows are fast approaching.
Though political advertising is a lot more complex on the stations’ side, the thing that affects the advertiser most is the Lowest Unit Rate (LUR). Basically, the LUR is the amount of money that a political advertiser is charged for a particular spot. It is set by the lowest rate that any commercial advertiser spends for the same spot. So even if you spend lots of money on a particular station, during a political window, broadcasters are often unable to give you your usually awesome low rates, because that would also make the politicians entitled to the same.
Now we broadcast buyers are left to fend for ourselves as we enter the 2012 political windows, which are anticipated to be the worst yet. Not only has political ad spending grown at a rapid pace each election year, but this will be the first presidential election year post the January 2010 Supreme Court decision that removed spending caps on “electioneering communications.”
And it’s not just the primaries and presidential race that marketers need to worry about. State and local candidates will also be out spending money. In 2010, Connecticut buyers had to compete with Linda McMahon’s deep pockets. And guess what Nutmeggers? She’s back again this year with hopes of a U.S. Senate seat.
So here are some tips to get you ready for the 2012 election season: