Political Outlay on TV Ads Shifts to Higher-Priced Units
The lowest unit charge (LUC) period for political ads begins Sept. 8, 60 days before the general election. But ad and research executives told us candidates are shunning the cheapest spots to buy costly ad inventory. “Lowest unit rate really doesn’t matter anymore”, Evan Tracey, COO-TNS Media Intelligence’s Campaign Media Analysis Group, said: “It was a good idea once upon a time. Now the market has figured out how to deal with this.”
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Lowest unit rate spots have a drawback: they come with no guarantee ads will air. Another advertiser -- including a political opponent -- can bump a candidate’s spot by paying more. Because of this, ad agencies increasingly are steering clients to “fixed” spots that can cost twice as much. “We don’t even buy LUC in most markets,” Garrett Briggs, of Blair Briggs, an agency that works with Republican candidates in Cal., said: “If you do it, you've got to do it sparingly and early in the cycle, because as you approach the election, supply becomes scarce.”
Buys by 3rd-party groups soak up ad inventory, raising prices all around, said an NAB spokesman. Such advertisers, which can’t buy LUC spots, are spending more than ever, TvB Mktg. Vp Jack Poor said: “There’s an inordinate amount of activity. We've heard of minor [ballot] issues that are funded in excess of $3 million. It’s coming out of the woodwork.” That’s good news for TV stations, he said: “It’s not just an alternate year phenomenon. What has historically been the off year keeps growing and growing. It’s becoming a bona fide category.”
Media buyers and TV ad sales reps skip the cheapest spots to avoid red tape, Paul Novak, of Novak Media, a N.Y. firm that buys ads for Democrats, said: “Every time you get preempted, there’s paperwork. Then the candidate has an extra $500 they need to spend someplace, and they go back to the sales rep and try to get it in at the lowest rate. Sooner or later the outlet is going to sour on you.”
Media buyers may be acting in their own interests when they tell candidates to buy costlier spots, the NAB spokesman said: “These people who buy time get a commission on every buy they make.”
The process has resulted in few if any FCC complaints the past decade, the NAB spokesman said: “That reflects on the fact that the FCC works with broadcasters on this issue to make sure they are following the rules.” Fines also are infrequent because broadcasters rarely want to test the FCC rules, he said: “The last thing a broadcaster wants to do is put his license at risk by breaking the political ad rules.”