Ad Shifts To Watch In An Election Year

2024 is an Election Year, and it’s going to cause changes in the House, Senate, White House, and your Marketing Plan. In an effort to spread their messages, political campaigns flood the advertising market with ads to their target audience: every registered voter. Yep, this means all 1.7ish million of us. The image above shows the yellowed and purple dates that will be the most challenging timeframes for placing google ads cost-effectively this year.

How Political Ads Impact the Backyard Recreation Industry

What does that mean for you? Your ads will compete against political ads, with political budgets, for much of 2024. These political ads will increase in frequency in July, eventually saturating the market as we get closer to Election Day. The digital ad landscape is, essentially, a political monopoly from late September through mid-November.

There are three main impacts we expect to see as a result of these political ads. 

1. Strict approval policies by the major ad platforms. In an effort to reduce the spread of misinformation, sometimes Google and Meta reject legitimate ads on their platforms. Any mention of wellness, fitness, or even the word “you” can be a red flag. There are also times when the platform will require account verification, which can feel annoyingly tedious. 

2. Increased Cost per Click. The ads displayed on Google, Microsoft, Meta, etc are based on an auction. When there’s an increased number of competing ads on the platform, the bid required to show your ad increases. We expect the cost of paid social ads to be 10-20% more expensive throughout the year, increasing to 50% more expensive during the final six weeks of the election cycle. 

3. An overall feeling of Ad Fatigue. As overall ad volume increases, users find themselves less trusting of advertisements. This is a great opportunity to get more personal with marketing.

While all Americans will notice an increase in ads, users in the swing states will see the greatest overall impact.

Yes, You Should Still Advertise in an Election Year! Here’s Why!

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed because political ads are completely out of your control. However, there are solutions. The political ad competition will affect search engine display ads and social media ads, but it won’t impact Search ads. You shouldn’t see much of an impact on your Google Search or Microsoft Search ads because those ads only show up when the user is searching for you or a product that you sell. If you’re not already maximizing your Search campaigns, now is the time to start.

Taking advantage of Negative Keywords is also critical. Negative keywords are words or phrases that can prevent your ads from appearing for specific search queries. They work in conjunction with broad-match terms in pay-per-click (PPC) advertising campaigns.

Finally, work ahead to create a marketing strategy. A clearly defined target audience and pre-planned marketing campaigns will solve most of the political ad headaches you could potentially experience. Planning your campaigns in advance so they can be pre-loaded into the platforms gives you time to resolve any approval issues and ensures your ad is in the queue for your specific audience.    

Stay Aware During this Political Year

The backyard recreation industry has survived many political seasons and 2024 will be no different. Stay plugged into your marketing efforts, keep an eye on your Cost per Click, and integrate as much of a personal touch into your marketing as possible. And, of course, the team at The Get Smart Group is here to support you if you need it.

 To learn more about online advertising and marketing for our industry, visit the International PSP Expo and attend the talk by Scott Reynolds from The Get Smart Group on how to create a 12 month marketing calendar and grow your business audience for the backyard recreation industry cost-effectively with a data driven approach for 2025 and beyond.