With more than 2 billion voters heading to the polls, the geopolitical, social, and economic futures of 50 countries, including the U.S. France, India, Mexico, South Africa, and the UK, are set to be decided (or have already been decided) throughout 2024, making this a historic election year.
Political marketing campaigns have come a long way—it’s not just big brands that have stepped up their marketing game. Political campaigns are also getting in on the action of digital marketing. From social media and Google Ad campaigns, political messages are being delivered to voters in ways you probably haven’t even noticed.
If you take a closer look at the numbers, historically, a small chunk of political ad dollars have been dedicated to digital platforms. Compare the 2020 and 2024 U.S. Presidential Elections, for example. Reuters reports a 156% spike in ad spend this year with Google and Meta platforms expected to see notable growth.
The same trajectory in growth can be seen in online ad spending in the EU’s political marketing campaigns. In 2019, for instance, Facebook recorded an excess of 23 million Euros in political ad spending. In 2024, Google reports over 45,000 individual ad postings in the EU for political campaigns—and we’re just halfway through the year!
However, the spike in ad spend on digital media doesn’t mean that traditional promotional avenues for campaigns have stalled; rather, it’s a careful but determined entry into the digital arena while also reaching demographics who may not be digitally savvy.
But before we get into the new-age marketing mechanisms used by political marketing campaigns, it’s important to see what the marketing landscape looked like before everyone started making that inevitable shift.
A (short) history of political marketing
Where there’s a political campaign, there’s political marketing and advertising. From the early days of political advertising in newspapers and televisions to today’s evolved digital strategies, campaigns have transformed across different mediums.
Here’s a closer look at the evolution of political advertising.
The early years
Print media
Political campaigns have been around since print media where newspapers, magazines, and flyers were the go-to option for reaching voters. Candidates used print media to talk about their policies and create stunning visuals like campaign posters to respond to the claims of their opponents.
The era was all about reaching the local community of constituents and focusing on their specific needs and interests to secure votes.
TV advertising
Television revolutionized the world and our access to it. It also opened up a whole new way for political campaigns to reach a wider audience that print media just couldn’t. It gave campaigns a visual platform, allowing them to reach mass audiences with emotional messages.
The first political TV ad aired in 1952 with Dwight D. Eisenhower’s “Eisenhower Answers America” campaign. With powerful visuals and expertly crafted messaging, politicians’ ability to connect with their constituents saw a new era in political advertising.
The advent of digital media
Early digital efforts
Digital advertising started making its way on campaign trails in the early 2000s when campaigns used email marketing and websites. This shift made it possible for campaigns to reach specific demographics, collect voter data, and provide platforms where voters could interact with each other and the candidates they supported.
Social media and big data
While sending out mass emails to supporters was a step in the right direction, political advertising got its big push once social media entered the fray. Platforms like Facebook and X have become commonplace for political campaigns that allow candidates unprecedented freedom to respond in real-time and use advanced algorithms to target specific audiences.
Making use of big data analytics also made a huge impact on the way political messages were shaped to cater to individual voters’ behaviors, preferences, and concerns. A more recent example was the 2008 and 2012 Obama campaigns that used data to drive voter engagement.
And finally, streaming platforms
Video-sharing platforms like YouTube and other streaming services have taken political advertising global. While targeted ads have the potential to reach specific demographics, platforms like these have made it possible to influence the world’s perspective by distributing content quickly and efficiently.
But what about the 2024 elections? With so many political campaigns being deployed throughout the year, it’s worth taking a look at some of the most talked about elections and how modern-day marketing shaped the way they reached voters.
Labour vs. Conservatives: Breaking down the 2024 UK electoral marketing strategies
One of the countries that found itself in an election that had the world at the edge of its seats was the UK General Election. Dubbed by some as the ‘The first TikTok election’, the main parties—Labour and Conservative (aka Tories)—spent a considerable amount on digital marketing across Meta and Google.
Political leaflets and broadcasts are no longer the norm and voters are being targeted by strategies that 20th century political campaign managers could only dream of. TikTok, for example, emerged as a key channel for political campaigns and Labour’s approach took advantage of the platform to send out rapid-reaction content that went on to generate millions of likes. Conservatives, on the contrary, opted for a traditional approach where their key figures spoke directly to the camera.
@apnews U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak set July 4 as the date for a national election that will determine who governs the country. “Now is the moment for Britain to choose its future,” Sunak said. #UK #politics #worldnews #elections
♬ original sound – The Associated Press – The Associated Press
Labour also used Google Ads keywords to make their campaign more prominent to voters. Conservatives asked viewers to search for ‘Labour tax rises document’ to take them to their PDF documents to rank organically on SERPs. The problem? Labour beat them to it because they were already using that search term in their ads making this a teachable moment for businesses that delay optimising their marketing campaigns until it’s too late.
The result? Conservatives lost out on a big chunk of traffic and engagement that may have been a factor in Labour taking a landslide victory in the 2024 elections.
Snap French Parliamentary Elections just in time for the 2024 Paris Olympics
Elections are often separated by a set number of years. In most countries, for example, parliamentary or Presidential elections happen every 2 or 4 years. So it was a surprise when President Macron called the polls three years too early.
While this decision left many in France baffled over the decision, especially with the Paris Olympics fast approaching, there wasn’t much time for political marketing campaigns to get fully underway, but that didn’t stop them from taking advantage of emerging tech.
The country’s National Rally and Reconquest parties used AI-generated content to send out messages on social media about hot-button issues like migration and the EU. Reconquest, for example, sent out a total of 23 AI-generated images across 81 posts on X, Facebook, and Instagram. Samuel LaFont, who was in charge of the party’s digital communication stated that they used Midjourney to generate these lifelike images.
The French election was also a great example of how one event could organically make waves in another when the political tremors were felt in the Euro 2024 football tournament being held in Germany at the time. France’s star player, Kylian Mbappe pitched in with his thoughts urging young people to vote in what he called a ‘crucial’ moment in the country’s history.
For businesses, this is perhaps as close as it gets to a political example of user-generated content where unsolicited ‘endorsements’ can have a lasting impact. The goal here is to create campaigns that influencers or consumers feel compelled to get behind and share with the world, making for an interesting and much more powerful campaign that drives engagement and the results you set out to achieve.
The Democrats and the Republicans go head-to-head at the 2024 polls
Perhaps the most closely analyzed presidential election of the year goes to the United States.
The 2024 presidential election is shaping up to be the most expensive race in American politics with spending expected to reach USD 11 billion throughout the year. But how are the political campaigns fairing with their digital marketing strategies?
So let’s get started with POTUS Joe Biden. You’d think that an app that has been banned on government devices would be a no-go to get the word out about his re-election campaign. Marketers will agree that TikTok’s importance hasn’t waned and Biden is using the platform that 77.2% of Americans between 18 and 24 utilize.
His campaign is trying to drive more traffic to the platform by making more political information available.
His opponent, former POTUS Donald Trump is no stranger to social media and has a unique way of influencing the polls that many that have come before him may not have tried. From self-promotion to simple and memorable slogans like ‘MAGA’, creating his own media narrative, and sending out real-time responses to his opponent’s claims, Trump is perhaps the most active political figure on social media in recent memory.
Some may even say that his active use of social media influenced the 2016 Presidential elections in his favor as he was able to reach a much wider audience than his political opponents, proving the power of social media when used properly. But his social media campaign didn’t stop there. He continued his influence on social media with 4,400 Facebook ads running in May 2018 alone!
For the marketers out there who stick to traditional or tried-and-tested methods of digital marketing these campaigns could serve as an example of what stepping outside the box could mean for their campaigns.
Political campaigns are going digital—are you?
So there you have it! 2024 is shaping up to be quite the year for political campaigns. Whether you’re trying to attract organic traffic or prefer to try your hand at paid ads, these political campaigns tell a familiar story—digital marketing is here to stay and is shaping the way we reach people.
If you’re a marketer looking for inspiration but don’t know quite how to get there or where to start, take a page out of these political marketing campaigns. Invest in a marketing strategy that gets you the results you want and gathers a cult-like following that hangs on your every word.
FAQs
What can my marketing strategy learn from political marketing campaigns that use digital marketing?
Political marketing campaigns offer valuable lessons for businesses using digital marketing. They highlight the importance of targeted messaging by segmenting audiences to deliver personalized content, enhancing customer engagement and conversion rates. Plus, political campaigns excel in real-time data analysis, constantly monitoring public sentiment and adjusting strategies accordingly. Businesses can use similar analytics tools to track consumer behavior and adapt their marketing efforts.
Finally, political campaigns effectively use social media to create compelling content, foster community, and encourage sharing. Businesses can leverage social media to build brand loyalty and amplify their reach through organic engagement.
What are the ways I can measure my digital marketing strategy success?
Success in digital marketing can be measured using various metrics, such as website traffic, conversion rates, social media engagement, email open rates, and ROI from advertising campaigns. Use tools like Google Analytics, social media insights, and email marketing software to track and analyze these metrics, and adjust your strategy based on the data to improve results.
What strategies can I use to choose the right digital marketing channels for my business?
Choosing the right digital marketing channels depends on your target audience, industry, and business goals. Start by understanding where your audience spends their time online and what type of content they engage with. Experiment with different channels like social media, email, SEO, and paid advertising, and analyze their performance to determine the best fit for your business.