Love it or hate it, the 2024 election season is well upon us.

Every four years, we advertisers buckle up for what will undoubtedly be a tumultuous year in digital marketing. As political spending continues to soar, this will undeniably affect our ad delivery and performance, no matter your niche.

Now is an excellent time to hone your advertising strategy and the way you communicate with your audience.

We’ve put together a few tips for rolling into this election season.

And read on to learn the juicy details of how one company blew half a million in advertising dollars with virtually $0 in revenue to show for it…

Tip #1: Watch Consumer Behavior More Closely

Whatever the outcome of the election, your brand needs to be nimble and able to adapt to the customer climate.

In 2016 (pre-pandemic), e-commerce traffic dropped 4.6% on Election Day and 10% the day after (source).

Some brands might consider pulling back on spending around the end of October and/or pausing campaigns on November 5th and 6th.

In addition to the election, it’s also key to consider the state of the economy. For example, we know inflation is down slightly, and the Fed just decreased borrowing rates by 0.5%. However, the job market has shrunk. If someone is worried about keeping their job or still feels that inflation is too high in some areas, they’ll most likely reduce their spending.

Another hurdle we face as advertisers is political fatigue and polarization. Even I get exhausted from an overload of politics and misinformation, leading me to avoid the media altogether. This can present challenges when trying to find your audience, but it also allows us to explore new opportunities outside of TV, radio, and email, such as connected TV and contextual advertising.

Back in the spring of 2017, I hosted an in-person mastermind on behalf of Agora Financial. On the second day, we shared some of our biggest recent wins and losses. One of the partners sharing his story was big in the survival space (think: very right-wing conservative, older males). During the 2016 election season, all the data pointed to a big win for Hillary Clinton, which would massively impact his business (in a good way). He capitalized on this and scheduled over $500,000 worth of advertising the day after the election, pushing people to buy his survival guides and products before a Democrat took office.

Alas, we all know what happened. President Trump was elected in a contentious race, and his advertising immediately became irrelevant and his brand experienced backlash since his message missed the mark.

In the end, advertising during an election year is always enlightening. It’s the perfect time to gather thoughtful insights to better understand and refine our strategies for future election cycles.

When we’re not learning, we’re not growing :)