Political Advertising in New York: Countdown to 2020

For the political strategists spending those billions decisions about where to place that media is critical Weighting traditional media and television is hotly discussed even in the consumer press Ultimately for all of those decisions even for national races local impact on votersamp8217 choices is essentialIn the nationamp8217s largest most complicated and most expensive media market amp8212 New York amp8212 the stakes are particularly high Television typically accounts for the bulk of political campaign media investments and according to Casey Bessette senior media buyer at Sage Media Planning and Placement using television in New York can be uniquely challenging She says that fragmented broadcast viewership across four major networks and several independent stations makes stretching a budget while still achieving the frequency needed with key audiences amp8220difficult but possibleamp8221Adding to the challenge local campaign ads often focus on voters or issues in one state when several states are covered within a DMA amp8220The ability to narrow your target audience and avoid unnecessary waste is invaluableamp8221 Bessette said Thatamp8217s why placing media through an independent interconnect that brings media opportunities together for buyers is a tactic that savvy firms such as Sage often useRandi Langford the New York Interconnectamp8217s NYI vice president of programming political and interconnect sales notes that Sage is one of about 15 major and amp8220countlessamp8221 other agencies that handle political and issue campaignsFor Bessette and other strategists interested in using networks such as CNN Fox News or MSNBC to reach voters the relationship with Langford and her team is vital she says Among other things amp8220Randi and her team give us access to one of our notsosecret weapons to reach likely voters local cable news channels including Spectrum News NY1 and News 12amp8221Langford who has been with NYI since before it represented every MVPD in the New York market acknowledges the value of the programming the company represents amp8220If weamp8217re working with a political campaign in the five boroughs Inside City Hall on NY1 is always on the buy Or if the campaign is in the suburbs Power and Politics on News 12 gets a lot of requestsamp8221 she says amp8220Campaigns also love the regional sports networks the Knicks the Rangers the Devils And of course entertainment networks that let candidates reach different types of audiences such as Hallmark or Discovery Channelamp8221 In Langfordamp8217s opinion though the ability to make effective planning easy for her clients is as important as access to popular programmingamp8220We work closely with Ampersand with our partners and affiliates like Comcast Charter Altice Verizon and others and with each agency to ensure that every campaign gets the turnaround attention and best possible tools for their needs Itamp8217s a true partnershipamp8221One way the NYI team eliminates waste is that most of the political campaigns they place are amp8220softamp8221 that is theyamp8217re placed on individual cable systems versus running across the full NYI footprint That minimization of waste is a key advantage because political campaigns can invest specifically in reaching only the homes that are relevant to their state and local races amp8220If itamp8217s a Senate race in New Jersey they donamp8217t need the 4 million homes in our New York footprintamp8221 Langford says amp8220With us the candidate is what determines the footprintamp8221Beyond minimizing waste Langfordamp8217s team has access to the most uptodate media tools and is using the time before the height of the political season to educate political and media strategists about what is available as well as listening to them about what they needamp8220We know a campaign does much better when it uses television and digital togetheramp8221 Langford says amp8220Different providers can do different things so we talk with the planning team about whatamp8217s best for the candidate whether itamp8217s using the OTT tools or addressable that Altice offers or another partneramp8217s IP targeting for example We can target or report using L2 data to segment audiencesamp8230amp8220If thereamp8217s a relevant eyeball itamp8217s my job to find it amp8212 and our job to make the best recommendations for each campaign based on what they need regardless of whatever our own feelings might beamp8221Langford has worked on every political flight NYI has managed since the summer of 2016 when she moved into political sales from a leadership role in general market sales She says that the political role was a big change amp8212 and one she didnamp8217t expect she would love so much amp8220Busy times arenamp8217t 12 months a year instead itamp8217s all about the 45 days before a primary or the 60 days before a general electionamp8221 she says amp8220And everything needs to be turned around in 12 to 24 hours When it hits itamp8217s like a tidal wave The newest tools play a huge role Thatamp8217s excitingamp8221Click the social buttons to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Political Advertising in New York: Countdown to 2020

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Kathy Newberger

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Political Advertising in New York: Countdown to 2020

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