2008 Political Spending Overview
2008 was an incredible political year, but it wasn’t the record-breaking year many had predicted. There were several reasons for this, including the early primaries (with dollars going into late 2007), lack of Republican fundraising success, McCain’s public funding limitations, and the absence of the 527 groups.
Still, $1.8 billion is a big number, and the candidate sector accounted for about 2/3 of the spending, with 46% going towards the Presidential race.
2008 Tally Through Mid-November: |
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| Candidates |
$1,216,886,177
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| Issue Policy |
$354,532,070
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| Ballot Measures |
$267,918,430
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| Total |
$1,839,336,677
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Candidates accounted for 66% of Political Spending
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Source: CMAG |
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While there was some national media on both network TV and national cable (most notably the Olympic buys and Obama’s infomercial), Spot TV remained the candidates weapon of choice to reach voters.
Local TV Stations Captured 82% of Candidate Television Spend |
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| Local TV Stations |
$1,163,200,000
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82.1%
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| Local Cable (est.) |
$200,550,000
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14.2%
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| Network TV |
$34,221,000
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2.4%
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| National Cable |
$19,464,000
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1.4%
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Source: CMAG |
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Florida, Pennsylvania and Ohio once again topped the “battleground state” spending list, but 2004 “red” states joining them included Virginia, North Carolina, Missouri and Indiana.
11 Battleground States accounted for over 87% of Presidential post convention spend: |
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State |
$ millions |
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Florida
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42.2
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| Pennsylvania |
41.3
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Ohio
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31.9
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Virginia
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27.2
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Wisconsin
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14.7
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Colorado
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14.2
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North Carolina
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13.1
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Michigan
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13.0
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Missouri
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11.9
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Indiana
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10.3
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| Nevada |
10.3
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Source: CMAG |
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One of the chief things that keeps Spot TV in the forefront is the fact that each state has its’ own story.
Florida came to life after the conventions. Each candidate concentrated significant spend in party stronghold markets.
Florida Convention to Election
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Source: CMAG |
Ohio was a geo-targeting battlefield as well.
Ohio Total Spend
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Source: CMAG |
Indiana was a “red” state target of Obama’s. It didn’t take as much spending as you would expect for him to attack because McCain didn’t defend. Obama included Chicago spending to reach northeast Indiana. Result: Obama 50%, McCain 49%.
Indiana Convention to Election
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Source: CMAG |
Here’s the flip-side of Indiana. Minnesota, a battleground state in 2004, was targeted by McCain, where he spent more than Obama both pre and post convention (keep in mind that Minneapolis-St. Paul was the host city of the Republican convention). While there was some heavy convention-oriented McCain spending, McCain also outspent Obama by a large amount for a full six weeks after the convention, leaving many to wonder if this money should have gone to Indiana. Minnesota result: Obama 54%, McCain 44%.
Minnesota 2008 Presidential Spend
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Source: CMAG |
The list goes on. Every state tells a story and as long as that is true, Spot TV will be the political media instrument of choice, adapting to whatever tactics the situation requires.