Vertical:Politics & Activism – Breaking Through the Clutter to Drive Action

Paul Winn, Managing Partner, Smart Media Group

1. With access to enhanced technology and voter insights, how do you think campaigns will allocate their marketing dollars in new ways versus 2016?

Since 2016, the amount of addressable inventory available has steadily increased. While it has not quite caught up to the demand from advertisers, the efficiency it brings to political campaigns helps maximize a campaigns budget.

2. What digital tool/platform/technology do you predict will get credit for changing the 2020 election?

In 2020, digital advertising will break out and become the first choice for many campaigns to reach voters. When do you think about the small audiences campaigns need to persuade to win an election, coupled with the increased time spent on digital/mobile platforms this is no surprise.

3.  What’s the most important thing agencies need to understand about the current state of Political marketing?

Politics more than any other category requires transparency in which clients can see exactly how their budgets are allocated. Transparency is the main reason we started our agency and it’s great to see clients demanding this insight across the board.

4. Can you give an example of how your clients/campaigns are creating meaningful connections with target audiences today?

An overwhelming majority of voters are very passionate about politics and creating meaningful connections is easier than it is for brands. The struggle for political advertisers, is the short window in which to present your candidates ideas and why they matter.  Brands have years to build awareness and present their unique differentiators, while most campaigns are run in less than three months from start to finish.

5. How do you define what it means to be a “modern marketer” today?

Modern markers need to do three things well, first they need to have unique data, second they need to be able to present data to their clients in a way that they can make decisions and third they need to be able to react quickly when clients change course. The days of waiting until the end of a quarter adjust your marketing strategy are over, our clients are now making adjustments every day.

Register here to hear Paul, and our four other panelists speak about Breaking Through the Clutter at Vertical:Politics on 3/10! Thanks to our partner, Xandr.