Contents...than on a TV station’s digital assets? • Over the Top (OTT): OTT is TV delivery that...

Contents

Introduction .......................................................... 3

Trends in Digital Advertising for Political Candidates ............................................. 4

TV Station Digital Overview ................................. 5

Achieve your Goals with TV Station Digital Offerings ................................................... 7

FAQs .................................................................... 9

Who is TVB? What is We Get Voters? ................. 9

Digital Advertising for Local Candidates The Power of Local TV’s Digital Assets

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INTRODUCTION

Wait, What? That’s right. Broadcast television stations have been building their digital footprints, advertising products and services for a generation. They’ve grown their local traffic, reach, first-party data and technology platforms. What was once considered a traditional media monolith now offers state-of-the-art digital solutions for local advertisers. Affiliate stations of ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox have helped tens of thousands of local businesses succeed in digital media, and they’re ready to help political candidates win their next elections. Broadcast television :30-second commercials have been and continue to be the political gold standard for federal campaigns. However, local candidates with limited budgets find it difficult to afford the benefits of broadcast TV, having to rely on smaller, segmented and less trusted media options. But now, the digital assets and services of broadcast television stations offer local candidates numerous ways to take advantage of digital advertising. This playbook, developed by the Television Bureau of Advertising as part of our We Get Voters initiative, outlines the benefits local TV stations offer local candidates. It includes research, paid media offerings and ways to maximize digital exposure when partnering with a local TV station.

Note: The content in this playbook covers general capabilities, inventory and approaches among the majority of broadcast TV stations. It is not meant to provide specific guidelines for any single TV station or broadcast group. While most TV stations will be familiar with all the material covered here, please consult individual stations for their capabilities and offerings or contact TVB for guidance.


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TRENDS IN DIGITAL ADVERTISING FOR POLITICAL CANDIDATES

Political advertising on digital media has become both mainstream and, at the same time, highly controversial. Digital media has clearly made fundraising easier, messaging more targetable and databases a lot easier to build and deploy. But in the wake of attempted election interference from foreign governments and the promulgation of so-called “fake news,” voters have become suspicious of the use of social media for political advertising. Video of computer-generated candidates speaking fictitiously (called “deepfakes”) makes it nearly impossible to distinguish fake from authentic video. Even search engines have been manipulated to deliver swayed and misleading results.

This mounting abuse has pushed digital companies to restrict what they allow political media buyers to purchase. TVB commissioned research to assess and quantify the role media platforms play in driving Americans’ conversations. In the study, researchers explored the perceptions around so-called “fake news.” Survey respondents overwhelmingly identified social media as the source.

Base: People (Total Public, n=2000) Q16: I find the problem with “fake news” to be most prevalent on… Source: Engagement Labs TVB American Conversation Study 2020


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TV STATION DIGITAL OVERVIEW

Trust and Engagement.

Trust

Broadcast television stations are the most trusted media outlets in local markets. Research consistently tells us that people trust local TV news more than any other source. That trust extends to the digital assets of TV stations, as well: websites, news and weather apps, email alerts and social media.

Source: GfK TVB Media Comparisons Study 2020. Persons 18+. Agree Strongly or Agree Somewhat. Q9 - For each source, please indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree with the following statement: I trust the News that I see/hear on this media source.

In the Engagement Labs research cited earlier, respondents picked local broadcast stations’ on-air and online assets as number 1 and number 2 when asked to identify the media channels they trusted most.


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Base: People (Total Public, n=2000); Q17: For each source, please indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree with the following statement: I trust the news that I see/hear on… Source: Engagement Labs TVB American Conversation Study 2020

If candidates could boast an equivalent level of trust among their voters, they’d win every election every time.

Engagement

Local television broadcasters have been active and involved in their communities for generations. Viewers in local communities see that and respond to it. The research at right shows that nearly half of people identify local TV news as the most involved in their community.

Source: GfK TVB Media Comparisons Study 2020. Persons 18+. Includes only those who chose a media. Q8 - And, which source of news do you feel is the most involved in your community?


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ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS WITH TV STATION DIGITAL OFFERINGS

Fundraising, Get Out the Vote, Candidate Introduction/Differentiation, Extend Reach

Fundraising

• Run-of-Site Display: TV station digital assets offer popular advertising units in paid media, also called standard ad units. When advertisers execute a run-of-site (ROS) campaign, ads run across the entire site, maximizing reach across the large and local online news audience.

• Database Growth: First-party databases, even relatively small ones, can deliver high value to local campaigns. Stations can help grow these databases significantly by employing a number of retail approaches such as games and sweepstakes.

• Targeted Display: There are a number of targeting capabilities valuable to local candidates. They include geography down to the zip code, time of day and device type. Further, many stations can target their own inventory into lifestyle segments, age, gender and by political party.

Get Out the Vote

• High-Impact Display Ads: These ad tactics are used over a short period of time, but provide a much more powerful user experience. These units include home page takeovers, mobile roadblocks, interstitials (full-page mobile ads on apps and sites) and other rich media that can be used on desktop, tablets and mobile phones.

• IP Targeting: This tactic allows candidates with databases containing actual addresses (think direct mail) to target digital ads to those addresses. The technology cross references an address with other available data to match it with a specific IP address. Once that data match is established, you can target digital ads to that specific address.


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Candidate Introduction, Differentiation

• Video: Long the purview of broadcast TV, traditional video ads for candidates are also now delivered through digital means. And what better place to place those video ads than on a TV station’s digital assets?

• Over the Top (OTT): OTT is TV delivery that is internet based, avoiding the need for a cable or satellite provider. Broadcasters have built out tech relationships that allows their advertisers to appear on long-form TV shows on platforms such as YouTube TV, Hulu Live or Sling TV. It also allows for data-driven targeting, unlike what traditional cable can do.

• Native Ads: Advertisers often want to deliver a more content-like experience for users. Broadcasters have incorporated these kinds of ad positions into their content streams in the form of native advertising, also called sponsored content. Candidates could use this approach to articulate position statements or deeper dives into important issues.

Extend Reach • Digital platforms, most notably mobile devices, are delivering local news to a group of

potential voters who may not watch TV news at traditional times. Nielsen Media Research has quantified the extended reach digital adds to TV advertising. Candidates looking to find busy, hard-to-reach potential voters can do so by advertising on TV stations’ websites and apps.

Source: Nielsen Local Media Impact, July 2019, Adults 18+; Major 4 English Broadcast Stations: NBC, CBS, FOX, NBC


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FAQS

How much of a budget do I need?

Local TV stations have much more flexibility with smaller budgets when working on digital media. Budgets as small as a few thousand dollars can provide real digital marketing impact for a candidate.

Will I need to provide cash in advance?

TV stations try to be consistent in their approach to political advertisers, whether they’re dealing with linear TV commercials or digital ads. So yes, it is likely you’ll need to pay cash in advance.

Can I reserve inventory in advance, as I can on TV?

Yes, but not in the same way as on TV. The difference is in how each kind of advertising is served. TV has a finite number of commercials predetermined far in advance. Digital inventory is more fluid, and digital ads are served dynamically based upon a number of rules. TV stations closely monitor political campaigns to make sure all ads are delivered as ordered.

Is there lowest unit rate (LUR) for digital advertising?

There are no FCC guidelines or laws dealing with digital advertising for candidates. What is also true, however, is that TV stations generally abide by the spirit of FCC broadcast rules when it comes to digital advertising.

WHO IS TVB? WHAT IS We Get Voters?

TVB is the not-for-profit trade association representing America’s local broadcast television industry. Its members include U.S. television stations, television broadcast groups, advertising sales reps, syndicators, international broadcasters and associate members.

We Get Voters is a campaign created by The Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB) to promote local broadcast TV’s voter influence and political impact.

For We Get Voters info: www.WeGetVoters.com

www.tvb.org

Twitter: @TVBTweets

120 Wall Street, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10005-3908 (212) 486-1111

http://www.wegetvoters.com/

http://www.tvb.org/

tel:212-486-1111

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