Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Presidential Ads Drive Media Spending Frenzy
byWith nearly two dozen potential presidential candidates jockeying for position, local TV stations are ready to reel in an estimated $700 million in media spending in 2007, according to an article in Business Week.
The article points out that the spend is a “mixed blessing.”
The good news is that 2007’s anticipated record political TV spend, twice that of a comparable period two years ago, will help offset slower spending by other traditional advertisers.
Consider that “politicians are now second only to automakers (ranked against other national advertisers on local TV in election years), while a decade ago, political advertising didn’t even make the top five,” according to Business Week.
The bad news?
The article states that the political media spending could make local TV media inventory scarce and drive away regular advertisers, who in turn may flock to online channels.
As the article states, some station executives can hardly conceal their glee at the upcoming political spend, while other executives know they can’t take their eyes off of their core “regular” advertisers who spend year in and year out with the TV stations.
What remains to be seen is who really “wins” in this next presidential election.
