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We’ve all been bombarded with the attack ads and the old school phone calls taped by the candidate themselves. The intent is to create a following that eventually turns into votes and helps your run for office. But do these marketing techniques really work? We decided to take a look at how much the nominees are spending on ads vs. their ranking in the polls. We’ll let the numbers speak for themselves.
Republicans
How entertaining. We’ve all likely made a drinking game out of the GOP debates by now. Jeb vs. Donald could be the next UFC fight and it would raise more money than Pacquiao vs. Mayweather. Most people associate the Republican Party with corporate funding and lots of money. They aren’t far off. Out of all the candidates, Hillary has raised the most, but close behind her are Republican contenders Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz, and Marco Rubio. The three of them have each spent over $20 million of their donations towards their campaign.
So how has it affected their presidential run? Short answer: it hasn’t. Donald Trump has spent the least on ads yet is the front-runner by nearly 15%. Back in December he was polled at 29.3% while spending only $216,000 in ads. Remember, he already had money. Ted Cruz followed behind with 15.5% and $850,000 in ads. Pretty tame so far. Well hold on, because it gets ridiculous from here on out. Vox has the current ad spend and poll numbers projected at the following:
Rubio $13.1M, 14.8% Carson $2.4M, 13.8% Bush $32.5M, 3.8% It gets embarrassing if we keep going, so we’ll just stop there. With Jeb Bush raising an astonishing $155.6M, it seems to have had little impact on his poll numbers. Trevor Noah of The Daily Show nailed it perfectly. Jeb Bush is hanging on by a thread and just needs to stop wasting the money of his benefactors. One Bush supporters openly stated “You might as well light all of this money on fire…” Watch this outspoken Bush supporter’s opinion on the GOP race here.
Democrats
Early on it seemed like Hillary Clinton had it in the bag. Then something dramatic happened. Bernie Sanders, the comeback kid, skyrocketed in the polls attached with the popular campaign slogan: “Feel the Bern.” How did this come about? The Democratic Party is very different when it comes to political advertising and gaining a following. At first, Bernie spent very little on his campaign. His average donation to his campaign was $25 or under. Hillary, on the other hand, has had large corporate donations towards her presidential campaign run. In total, Hilary’s largest donation comes in from Citigroup Inc. at $782,387 and Bernie with Machinists/Aerospace Workers Union at $105,000. Hillary is at the top of the charts with money raised and money spent. She beats out all of the Republican candidates in both categories.
Now how are they pulling these donations? What are they doing for advertising? The answer is: not much. Sure, there have been a few ads, but no more than the average campaign trail. The democratic following has mainly relied on grassroots marketing. Whether it’s making talk show appearances or small town rallies, Sanders and Clinton have been trying to make a personal connection with their audience. Each with their own appeal and sense of humor, they remain neck and neck in the race. Let’s talk about Bernie for a second.
At the beginning of the race, he looked like a nobody as far as the presidential race goes. Then came #FeelTheBern. Social media exploded with the name Bernie Sanders and he quickly gained traction with the younger vote. At the recent Iowa caucus, 84% of voters aged 17-29 voted for Sanders. Clinton appealed to the older crowd, causing Sanders to only take home just 26% of the 65-and-over vote. Hillary and Bernie tied in the overall results, but it seems that Bernie’s social media campaign helped skyrocket his success, landing him a small margin away from Hillary’s overall numbers. How? Easy. Bernie has a group of loyal followers that are not tied to his campaign in anyway. They organize meet ups, spread awareness, and send articles viral. They drive his campaign’s marketing. However, they are not employed by his campaign. Well done, Bernie. According to Inside Gov’s statistics as of February 9, 2016, Bernie has not collected any significant money other than individual donations:
Bernie Super PAC $0 Bernie Individual Donation $75,023,151 Hillary Super PAC $54,895,162 Hilary Individual Donation $115,563,928 Overall, both nominees have been rushing around the talk show circuit and holding rallies to further their support and it’s been working. Hillary on snapchat, Bernie on social media. They both seem to be taking a more 21st century/grassroots approach and it’s working. Do you even know who the other candidates are?
So does spending tons of money on advertising help?
No. It’s 2016 and everything is accessible to a personal level. The best way to gain voters and attract attention is to get down and dirty. Go out and shake hands. Hop on social media. Connect with your audience. People want to know who they’re voting for rather than rely on some media coverage they see on CNN. Money is nice, but connecting with the public on a more personal note is going to take you farther. Learn from Jeb, take a different approach.
Photo Credits:
Donald Trump by Gage Skidmore (CC BY-SA)
US Senator of Vermont Bernie Sanders by Michael Vadon (CC BY-SA)
