Presidential elections affect nearly every aspect of society, including the legal marketing industry.
At PMP Marketing Group, we have been closely observing how this high-stakes political event is shaping the marketing landscape. Our unique position at the intersection of law and marketing gives us a unique lens through which we can view the election’s influence on advertising spend and marketing strategies.
In this blog, we explore the ripple effects of the presidential race on the marketing world. We discuss how law firms can adapt their marketing strategy, what consumers can expect, and we unpack the lessons that marketers can learn. We want you to know how to leverage these insights, so you can stay ahead of the game.
PMP has been helping law firms all over North America reach more of their target audience and sign more cases for over 15 years. We welcome the opportunity to discuss your marketing challenges and explain how we can help you reach your goals. Contact us today to discuss our advertising services.
Ad Fatigue and Legal Marketing: Cutting Through the Political Noise
As you would expect, there is a surge in political advertising in the buildup to the November election. Our agency looked back at ad spending during the last election. Due to the influence of COVID-19, marketing objectives shifted primarily to customer retention during 2020. For law firms, this translated into clearing old and existing inventory (cases) – which insurance companies were willing to settle due to the significant volumes of cash they had on hand. This shift in strategy resulted in ad spend over the major advertising channels, falling approximately 15% compared to 2019.
However, in a “normal” election year like the one we are now facing, the increase in advertising spend is often in the 10-20 percent range. Furthermore, in battleground states like Florida, Ohio, and Texas, ad-spend spike can spike significantly – up to 50 percent.
With this increase in spending comes consumer fatigue as we can expect to constantly see campaign ads being pushed. This surge in spending also sends shockwaves across the marketing landscape. As political campaigns pour millions into TV spots, digital ads, and social media promotions, they effectively flood the market, driving up costs and reducing available ad space for other industries.
With TV advertising specifically, we have noticed that our clients experience “fallout” where they are pushed from their TV spot due to a campaign from the presidential election pushing their TV spot bid out. This increased competition for eyeballs and clicks often forces non-political advertisers, including law firms, to either pay premium rates, re-strategize, or risk being drowned out by political noise.
Our media buying team has found that in swing states such as Texas, we can anticipate a 20-50 percent increase in the pricing of TV spots compared to non-election years. The largest increases in pricing typically occur 90 days before voting, with the steepest rates in the final 30 days.
Even after the election is over, pricing typically remains high and does not normalize because so many industries are pushing their advertising for after the election. So, many businesses find themselves priced out of their usual advertising channels or struggling to maintain their regular ad frequency during and after the presidential election.
For law firms, this can mean a temporary setback in visibility and client acquisition efforts. To combat this, legal marketers must get creative, exploring alternative channels, doubling down on organic content strategies, or adjusting their ad timing or station host to capitalize on the brief lulls between major political pushes.
Understanding and preparing for this cyclical advertising fallout is crucial for maintaining a strong marketing presence during election seasons. It is crucial to partner with an agency that knows how to manage your spend effectively and pursue alternative marketing opportunities.
The CTV Revolution: How Presidential Campaigns Are Reshaping Digital Ad Strategies
Another way to combat fallout from TV advertising is to advertise on CTV (Connected Television). A connected TV is one that is connected to the Internet and can deliver advertising through streaming services, such as Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime. CTV allows you to target and reach many customers.
The 2024 presidential campaign marks a significant shift in political advertising strategies, with CTV emerging as a cornerstone of digital outreach. Campaigns are allocating unprecedented budgets to CTV platforms, recognizing the medium’s unique ability to combine the impact of traditional television with the precision targeting of digital ads.
Statista reports that at the current pace of advertising spend, CTV ad spend is expected to grow to 42.4 billion dollars by 2027. This pivot reflects the changing viewing habits of American voters, who are increasingly cord-cutting in favor of streaming services.
CTV allows campaigns to reach specific demographic groups with tailored messages, often at a fraction of the cost of traditional broadcast TV. Moreover, the interactive nature of CTV ads enables campaigns to include direct response elements, such as prompts to donate or register to vote, enhancing engagement and measurable outcomes.
This strategic embrace of CTV is not just changing how political messages are delivered; it’s forcing a reevaluation of ad spend allocation across the entire marketing spectrum, setting new benchmarks for audience reach and engagement that will likely influence advertising strategies well beyond the political arena.
When our clients are experiencing fallout from TV and are pushed from their spots or do not want to pay the increased prices, we recommend moving our client’s spending toward CTV. Even though political advertisements are also pouring into CTV, we can move here too because there is more advertisement space on CTV than traditional TV advertising. This is because there are so many streaming platforms and so many ways to target audiences, so there are more viable, cost-efficient spots for all advertisers.
PMP does not see a cap on the volume of opportunities on streaming platforms, so we recommend capitalizing on it.
Decoding Gen Z: How Digital Marketing Is Shaping the Youth Vote
According to the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, Gen Z comprises of 41 million eligible voters. Gen Z’s prolific creation of memes and jokes about the presidential campaign on platforms like TikTok and Instagram has inadvertently become a powerful force in organic marketing strategies.
This generation’s penchant for humor and viral content has transformed political discourse into bite-sized, shareable moments that spread rapidly across social media. Campaign slogans, debate gaffes, and policy points are quickly remixed into clever videos, catchy sounds and witty image macros. While some of these creations mock or criticize candidates, others genuinely engage with political issues through a lens of humor and creativity.
This user-generated content serves as free advertising, extending the reach of campaign messages far beyond traditional media. Savvy political marketers are now actively monitoring and, in some cases, participating in these trends, recognizing that a well-timed, authentic response to a viral meme can generate more engagement than a carefully crafted ad. This phenomenon has forced campaigns to be more agile, responsive, and in tune with youth culture, blurring the lines between official messaging and grassroots commentary.
The challenge lies in navigating this landscape without appearing inauthentic or out of touch, as Gen Z voters are quick to call out pandering or misguided attempts to co-opt their culture. This phenomenon of virality and humor highlights the need for an increased emphasis on organic digital marketing.
This increased use of the Internet for marketing provides another opening to the barrier of increased pricing for TV spots during the election. One creative way to reach the same audiences from a news station without placing a TV spot is to advertise on that news station’s website.
As we move forward, successful marketers will be those who can adapt quickly, leverage new technologies, and find creative ways to engage their audience amidst the electoral clamor. It is essential that you have an agency like PMP Marketing Group that properly forecasts and effectively adjusts your marketing and advertising budget and strategy based on key events and dates, like the presidential election.
By understanding these dynamics and implementing strategic adjustments, law firms can not only weather the storm of election season advertising but potentially emerge with stronger, more diverse marketing approaches that will serve them well beyond the current political cycle.
