Brands Can Manipulate the Media Landscape During Political Ad Campaigns

The 2024 presidential election in the United States is expected to establish new records for political ad expenditure, with forecasts projecting a historic $12 billion by election day – more than a 30% rise above 2020 levels. And it’s not simply typical advertising spending. Digital media costs will skyrocket. Brands will be pressured to spend more than they wish or to refine their digital marketing techniques in order to be more effective.

This spike indicates a significant disturbance in the commercial media sector. Unlike in 2020, the torrent of political commercials across traditional and digital media in 2024 confronts marketers with a unique challenge: how to maintain awareness and engagement amidst this deluge. The idea is to use AI to circumvent (outmaneuver) the media ecosystem and engage directly with customers.

Politics increases prices and limits ad inventory.

As the election season progresses, political campaigns increasingly dominate both traditional and digital media. This dominance increases expenses and limits ad inventory, particularly in critical battleground states. The overlap between this political ad blitz and the critical holiday shopping season exacerbates the shortage of premium ad places, causing firms to reconsider and retool their media plans.

Politics causes marketing weariness.

Election coverage also results in “media fatigue.” In accordance with Pew Research Center, “about six in ten U.S. adults (62%) already say they are worn out by so much coverage of the campaign and candidates, while 35% say they like seeing a lot of this coverage.”

According to Optimove’s research on 2024 Christmas shopping, 67% of customers will experience “marketing fatigue” by November.

It demonstrates that, whether through earned or sponsored media, consumers are inundated with messages. Brands must produce timely and relevant communications that engage with their target audience.

However, businesses have an inherent edge over most political campaigns: deep, existing customer ties. These relationships, based on trust and familiarity, provide a solid platform for breaking through the cacophony.

Brand advantage: established customer relationships.

In this congested market, brands must face the important challenge of grabbing and maintaining consumer attention. Success is no longer defined by broad strokes; it is determined by delivering the right message at the proper time and frequency. Fortunately, brands have a significant advantage: their established relationship with customers.

In 2024, the evolution of AI-orchestrated marketing to manage, optimize, and personalize the entire customer journey across numerous channels and touchpoints will be a significant differentiation for organizations seeking to engage with their customers. Unlike old approaches, AI provides incredible precision, allowing brands to send highly targeted and individualized messages that resonate emotionally with their customers. This capacity allows marketers to completely hack traditional media and provide direct messaging that establishes and reinforces a genuine relationship with their customers.

Marketers should be empowered by AI.

AI-powered marketing solutions use massive amounts of data to identify key client categories and adapt messaging to each individual. This tailored approach is critical in a climate rife with political advertisements. Unlike traditional marketing tactics, which frequently overlook the details that distinguish individual consumers, AI-powered customer marketing engages in meaningful, individualized discussions throughout the consumer’s purchasing experience.

For example, two clients with school-age children may appear to be similar, but AI can tell the difference between one parent’s focus on essential school supplies and the other’s interest in advanced gadgets. By personalizing communications to these specific interests, marketers can stay relevant and promote deeper engagement.

In 2024, self-optimizing campaigns will be a reality

AI-powered consumer marketing avoids the problems of overgeneralization by providing individualized offers or messaging to each micro-segment of clients. AI orchestration goes a step further, allowing marketers to synchronize and coordinate hundreds of interactions at the individual level. This maximizes engagement across the customer’s lifecycle, from early awareness to post-purchase support.

Generative AI also transforms typical A/B/n testing. Instead of being labor-intensive and time-consuming, AI makes A/B/n testing a continuous, dynamic process. AI can scan micro-segments, alter offers in real time, and ensure that each sub-segment receives the most compelling message, resulting in increased satisfaction and engagement.

AI-based techniques can influence customer behavior and loyalty.

These artificial intelligence-driven advertising methods have the potential to greatly alter customer behavior and loyalty. Here’s how.

1. Precision Targeting by Customer Preference: Deliver only hyper-relevant tailored advertising to customers that harness customer history behavior and have the highest probability of engagement.

2. Real-Time Adaptation: Respond in real time to changes in customer behavior. For example, modify a customer’s ad group based on their most recent browsing.

3. Optimize acquisition for long-term value (LTV): Use predictive models like Future Value or basic segmentation to create lookalike audiences that can yield better customer acquisition targets with higher LTVs.

4. Reduce ad spend: In a world where CPCs and CPMs will be pushed higher because of political campaigns, employ AI to automatically remove clients who are less likely to convert from expensive ad campaigns.

Become a media hack.

AI-powered, self-optimizing campaigns are more than just a technology innovation; they represent a strategic advantage that can increase meaningful engagement and consumer loyalty over time. In a media landscape dominated by political commercials, firms that use AI to deliver hyper-personalized, real-time communications will be well positioned to connect with customers in previously unthinkable ways. Brands can overcome the media frenzy by focusing on precision, customization, and real-time adaptability. Being a media hack may not win an election, but it can capture the hearts and minds of a brand’s customers.