This article was originally published on Forbes.com.
In a presidential election year with a challenging economic environment and tensions growing across the planet, U.S. consumers are understandably uneasy. Advertisers are facing a challenging scenario that requires agility, foresight and possibly a touch of ESP. Understanding the dynamics of digital advertising—and how real-world events impact them—is critical to success now more than ever.
Election Year Drama
The atmosphere of an election year is always charged with heightened emotions and amplified media consumption. Consumers actively engage in content around topics they care about, research candidates and issues, and watch coverage of political events and debates. This surge in engagement opens up both opportunities and challenges. For brands and advertisers, it translates to intensified competition and increased advertising costs. It also heightens the need for caution regarding placements and adjacencies.
Political campaigns dominate traditional and digital media, vying for voter attention. Consequently, nonpolitical advertisers often find themselves competing for a share of voice and facing inflated ad rates due to heightened demand. On top of that, brands have to be vigilant about where ads appear, as advertising on certain outlets may be construed as a political endorsement. Similarly, a placement adjacent to a political ad or hot-button topic could have a positive effect or a harmful one, depending on the viewer.
Spending On Digital Political Ads Is Expected To Surge
When candidates began capitalizing on digital media in the early 2000s, the landscape was still nascent, so there was little impact on inventory or pricing. It wasn’t until the 2016 presidential election that digital ads became a staple. That year, internet advertising also saw a spending surge, leading to increased competition and higher costs. Political ad spending continued to grow, reaching $8.5 billion in the 2020 election cycle.
This election, political ad spending is expected to grow by more than 30% from 2020 to $12.32 billion,with digital media accounting for almost a third of it. The digital investment is expected to spike 156% over 2020 levels, hitting $3.46 billion. Of that, $1.56 billion will likely go to connected TV, an increase of over 500% since 2020. Google is expected to see $553.2 million; $605 million will likely go to social media networks.
This increase in spending across the digital advertising landscape will have a monumental impact on brands, which will have to navigate fluctuations in competition, cost and inventory.
Will Media Fatigue Have An Impact?
Even as media consumption remains high, there is another hurdle for advertisers: fatigue and polarization. Exhaustion from an overload of politics or feeling misinformed may lead some audiences to disengage to avoid political news. Some users may pivot to platforms with lighter, fluffier content instead. This diversion can present challenges to finding your customers where they are, but you’ll also have opportunities to test new tactics, like contextual advertising, curated site lists or connected TV.
During the last presidential election, more people than ever reported being exhausted with the user experience on social media due to political content, though it did not decrease social media engagement overall. However, this election may play out differently. Meta appears to have recognized how politics can dominate its platforms and is intentionally shifting its platforms away from political discourse. It’s also requiring advertisers to disclose that their campaigns promote political or social issues, and is ceasing to recommend political content in feeds on Instagram and Threads. Per Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram, “Our goal is to preserve the ability for people to choose to interact with political content, while respecting each person’s appetite for it.” It will be interesting to see how all this affects advertisers.
What Should Advertisers Do?
It may be tempting to sit it out or slow it down, but resist. Pulling back advertising spend during challenging times can hinder growth. As evidenced by research from McKinsey, marketing during uncertain times can drive resilience. Maintaining a thoughtful presence across advertising channels will yield dividends during challenging times as it can help you create more distance between yourself and your competitors, which pays off in the long run. Watch campaigns closely, be patient and move quickly when you need to.
During an election year, it can be tough to test and learn effectively, but you can’t count on the things that have always worked to remain effective, so you must adapt.
A successful playbook includes some key activities:
Critically analyze every element of every ad, keeping in mind context and adjacencies. The tone and messaging of your ads will be closely scrutinized this year; accept that you’ll need to be more vigilant in putting the right campaigns out there and actively monitoring the response.
Take the time to review your media partners, whitelists and blocklists. Set dedicated time on your calendar to do this on an ongoing basis.
In the spirit of failing fast, when testing a new tactic or campaign, keep budgets modest at first and be prepared to pullnon-performers quickly.
Be more agile. You will need to optimize campaigns more frequently and with a more critical eye during this time. Prepare your resources and establish new processes to foster a more agile campaign management approach.
Brands can thrive, even amid the uncertainty of an election cycle, by studying the past, staying tuned in to customer behavior and finding every opportunity to outdo their competitors. The savviest advertisers are the ones who take advantage of every relevant trend and opportunity, safeguard their brands more effectively, and optimize most efficiently to get results. Accept uncertainty, but face it with the right playbook, and you can position your brand for success during turbulent times—and thrive when calmer days eventually arrive.
In a rare show of bipartisanship, the Senate on Tuesday followed the House of Representatives’ footsteps by passing a bill to force the sale of TikTok by its Chinese parent company, ByteDance otherwise a TikTok ban will take place in the United States. President Joe Biden signed the bill into law on Wednesday, leaving many to wonder what comes next.
The answer: Not much just yet, but the future is murky. Here’s what the measure and potential TikTok ban mean for consumers and brands alike.
TikTok has up to a year to be sold by its China-based owner — or face a ban in the U.S., after the Senate passed a foreign aid bill Tuesday night. The potential ban would shut out 170 million users and impact small businesses. #news#tiktok
First, some context. The legislation was instigated due to national security concerns over the wildly popular app’s Chinese ties. Security experts and lawmakers believe the Chinese government could use the app to spread propaganda to the 170 million TikTok users in the U.S., and/or look to ByteDance to share sensitive information about those users.
That said, TikTok maintains it protects U.S. user data through an alliance with Oracle, which blocks data from being accessed overseas. (See: Project Texas).
Is there a TikTok ban right now?
The newly minted law gives ByteDance 9-12 months to sell to a new owner. No ban will take place before the 2024 presidential election. Legal challenges are expected, so this process could take years to settle and ultimately go down in history as just a big flex by the U.S.
If TikTok is banned, existing users will no longer have access or be able to upload new content. The app would also not be available to download in app stores.
There are a lot of implications surrounding a new law that would force a TikTok sale or ban it in the U.S. Credit: tashatuvango – stock.adobe.com
Who is in the running to take over TikTok?
It’s unclear, but whoever buys TikTok (if we get to that point) is going to need some pretty deep pockets. While ByteDance only needs to sell off the U.S. portion of its TikTok business to satisfy the law, it’s predicted that segment could be worth tens of billions of dollars.
Mark Zuckerberg and Sundar Pichai need not apply: tech giants Meta and Google would likely be struck down as potential buyers due to antitrust concerns. There is some chatter that former U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin wants to build a group of private equity firms and other investors to buy TikTok.
So, what does a TikTok ban mean for my brand’s account?
Keep an eye out for news of a potential TikTok sale, and brace for the possibility of a ban. You can be proactive about your content by downloading it for safekeeping and eventually repurposing it on a different platform, like Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and X, which has said it’s now a video-first channel.
In the meantime, think about cultivating and owning your audience through other means, like through an email marketing strategy. With the potential for compromised user data and privacy concerns on social channels, it’s certainly not a bad time to invest in other aspects of owned media.
Another thing to consider is that if TikTok is sold to an approved buyer, it may not come with all its parts – meaning the algorithm that has made the app so popular and addictive might not be part of the deal. And that could be just as effective at killing TikTok in the U.S. as banning it would be.
Super Bowl 2024 will be etched into history as “The One with Taylor Swift,” but that doesn’t mean the ads won’t get their fair share of attention. While many brands paid big bucks to get their 30 seconds of fame, these are the favorites chosen by the All Points Social team.
Super Bowl Ad with the Biggest Gut Punch: Dove, “Let’s #KeepHerConfident”
This Super Bowl commercial starts strong, showing how tough young girl athletes are as they bounce back from stumbles and falls to “It’s a Hard Knock Life.” As Dove says, the knocks don’t stop girls from playing sports… low body confidence does. And then the music stops, and your visceral reaction begins. This is an effective launch of a campaign to boost the confidence of young athletes everywhere.
Super Bowl Ad That Produced the Most Tears: Google Pixel, “Javier in Frame”
Google’s Super Bowl spot hones in on one of Google Pixel’s latest AI-enabled features, Guided Frame, and masterfully demonstrates how it helps enhance the life of a disabled person – all while the audience views it through the eyes of someone with blindness or low vision. The tagline “Capture life, no matter how you experience it” is perfection. Cue the tears.
Super Bowl Ad with the Most Fun: Kawasaki, “Mullets”
Sometimes, a solid Super Bowl commercial is all about having fun. Kawasaki nailed this with its homage to mullets – business in the front, party in the back – to advertise the new Ridge sport utility UTV. Let the good times roll indeed.
Super Bowl Ad with the Best Cameos: e.l.f. Cosmetics, “In e.l.f. We Trust”
“Suits” was the most-streamed show in 2023. e.l.f. Cosmetics leveraged everyone’s favorite legal drama by dropping two of its characters into the courtroom of Judge Beauty (no other than Judge Judy) to litigate against overspending on beauty in favor of affordable, cruelty-free e.l.f. products. Joining Louis Litt and Jessica Pearson is a star-studded courtroom, including “Jury Duty’s” Ronald Gladden, Meghan Trainor, HeidiNCloset of “Ru Paul’s Drag Race,” comedian Benito Skinner (aka Benny Drama), and more. Shoutout to Donna (Sarah Rafferty) as the court stenographer. This just might become one of the most memorable Super Bowl 2024 ads.
Super Bowl Ad with the Most Slapstick Comedy: Reese’s, “Yes!”
Reese’s cranked up the funny factor and focused on slapstick comedy as part of its new product reveal, the Caramel Big Cup.
Super Bowl Ad with the Most Uncomfortable Mirror of Reality: Pluto TV, “Couch Potato Farms”
As prices for streaming services rise, more and more Americans are canceling their accounts and embracing a subscription-less TV and movie life. Enter Pluto TV, a free ad-supported streaming service that’s kind of like how TV used to be, but with many, many more channels at your fingertips. There is a non-monetary cost, though –the more free TV you watch, the more likely you are to morph into a literal couch potato.
Super Bowl Ad with the Most Compelling Puppy-to-Dog Storyline (and Clydesdales): Budweiser, “Old School Delivery”
Budweiser’s Super Bowl commercial leverages its beloved Clydesdale tradition. This time, the Clydesdales help deliver kegs of Budweiser “the old-fashioned way” after a big snowstorm hits. But there’s a deeper layer of meaning to this spot in the form of the Yellow lab that greets the horses upon their arrival. Could it be the puppy from 2014’s “Best Buds” – arguably one of the best Super Bowl ads of all time – all grown up and reuniting with his old friend?
Super Bowl Ad with the Best Use of Weird Barbie: Hellmann’s, “Mayo Cat”
What’s weirder than Weird Barbie? A cat acting as spokesperson for mayonnaise? It’s as good a guess as any. Hellmann’s captures Kate McKinnon’s trademark goofiness and well-documented love for cats in this very funny Super Bowl spot. It’s complete with a hilarious cameo by Pete Davidson.
Super Bowl Ad with the Best Big Game Punchline: UberEats, “Don’t Forget”
With this Super Bowl commercial, UberEats positions itself as the solution for when you forget all about dinner/errands and have nowhere else to turn. It shows various celebrities and people in real-life situations forgetting key aspects of their lives: Jennifer Aniston forgot working with David Schwimmer for a decade on “Friends,” Victoria and David Beckham can’t remember what the “Spice Girls” were called (“Paprika Girls?”), a person with a peanut allergy realizes too late that peanuts are the main ingredient of peanut butter, and so on. In the end, Usher says he wishes he could play the Super Bowl half-time show someday. It’s funny unless you don’t know who Usher is.
Super Bowl Ads with the Best Nod to Meme Culture: Dunkin’, “PopStar” and “The DunKings”
Once again, New England icon Ben Affleck stars in a “Dunkin'” Super Bowl ad. This time, the two-part ad storyline riffs off of the “Sad Ben Affleck” memes that make up much of the social media lexicon. Ben is fueling himself with Dunkin’ to fight back against his “Sad Ben” status by becoming a pop star. This Super Bowl spot also gets an honorable mention for the best use of celebrities to bridge the generational divide, with TikTok queen Charli D’Amelio showing Ben how it’s done these days.
Later, we see Ben’s efforts on display when his boy band, “The DunKings,” enters J.Lo’s recording studio. It doesn’t go well, but at least Matt Damon has Ben’s back.
So there you have it: All Points Social’s picks for the best Super Bowl 2024 ads. Some will be forgotten by Monday; others will become Super Bowl lore. Only time will tell.