Political campaigns will kick into high gear after Labor Day weekend in the final stretch toward Election Day on Nov. 3. Those weeks will bring a jump in media spending, especially in swing states that are still too close to call.
For Xandr, AT&T’s digital advertising exchange, this year’s election season is notable as political campaigns seek voters on a broader range of media outlets. In addition to linear TV that has the broadest reach, those channels include over-the-top and streaming platforms that reach connected TVs.
“All political advertisers are trying to find more effective and efficient ways to get on big screens,” Steve Truxal, senior vice president of product management at Xandr, said in this interview with Beet.TV. “They know it’s the best way to get across to different voters in different regions.”
There’s a lot at stake for political parties with control of the White House and the U.S. Senate in play. The hard-fought campaigns will translate into massive fundraising efforts and a record $15 billion in ad spending, according to an estimate from GroupM, WPP’s media-buying arm.
Amid that growth, WarnerMedia last month announced it would offer some of its ad inventory though Xandr for the first time. Xandr set up its platform so that political campaigns can run ads and have peace of mind that they’re complying with a patchwork of federal and state regulations.
WarnerMedia historically never allowed PMPs for political buyers across their inventory,” Truxal said. “We showed them all the tools we have in the DSP, and we built a couple others just for them. It’s really given them a lot of confidence and trust to allow political advertising.”
Political campaigns are putting money into streaming platforms amid a broader shift in viewing habits. The campaign for Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden recently began running ads on Hulu and Pluto TV to target votes in battleground states like Arizona and Wisconsin. President Donald Trump’s campaign said it also had spent millions on digital TV, the Wall Street Journal reported.
