Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuael is credited with a sound observation that should resonate deeply with news outlets this year: “Never let a crisis go to waste. Start planning for the future.“
There’s no getting around it, the news business is in the most dramatic crisis it’s seen. But there may be some good news on the horizon – if publishers play their cards well.
With interest in news sites at an all time high, the stage is set for one group of advertiser to take a sustained interest in online ad sales. Political campaigns, advocacy efforts and other information-oriented activity want to be on news sites. They want to talk to people in crisis. They are looking for the attention of people starved for information. They don’t really mind seeing their ads next to a story everyone’s going to read.
Since publishers haven’t taken as strong an interest in their online ad sales as they have in print, the bulk of those ads arrive through the back-door, via programmatic ad sales. Of the roughly $1billion spent online in 2017, 60% went to Google and Facebook.
But as Google’s recent crackdown on Covid-19 related ads show, that doesn’t always have to be the case. Publishers can and should be more aggressive about blocking the sales of political ads via the platforms and exchanges. And if ever there were a time to push back against the duopoly, it’s now.
Why? In addition to growing digital budget allocation by campaigns and PACs, ad dollars that were expected to be spent on door-to-door outreach are now moving to online. And that’s without the need to remind voters of changes in election days, timing or processes. The potential revenue for political online sales was put at $1.3 billion at the beginning of the year. It’s likely higher now.
The problem for publishers is that there’s no easy way to find and connect with political campaigns. Until now. Spot-On’s Pinpoint Placement Platform is slated for a summer debut. We connect your news outlet with political advertisers interested in honoring your political rate card for premium, secure placements for their state house, Congressional or national races.
Interested in learning more? Drop us a note. We’ll get you a demo and tell you about the races we see coming in your part of the country.
