After Michigan’s primary election, the last thing you want to read right now is more amateur punditry.
So I’ll spare you that.
But there’s a takeaway from this state’s elections that’s worth noting for everyone who works in, or even cares about, the media and PR businesses. An argument could now be made that broadcast TV campaign advertising isn’t what it used to be.
I won’t pretend to be an expert in media buying, because I’m certainly not, nor am I an election campaign strategist of any kind. But like everyone in PR, even those who never worked in local TV, the relative health of the business of local commercial TV affects what we do. In most markets, it’s where the many of the news “holes” are and still, with all of the changes in news, in all but the biggest markets, it’s where the news people are too. One of the reasons why local TV stations have maintained their value to the extent they have, in the midst of contraction and consolidation, is the potential for big advertising revenue in election years.
Around here, we had two campaigns this year that were dreams come true for the owners of the local stations. One, from businessman Perry Johnson, who around the Super Bowl started bombarding the airwaves with six months of relentless spot buys that didn’t let up until August 4th. Reportedly, he spent $30 million of his own money, seemingly most of it on local TV. The other, from Rep. Haley Stevens running for Congress, or her PAC supporters, spent reportedly more than $40 million of other people’s money on attacking her opponent, most of it this summer and seemingly most of it on local TV.
Both candidates lost.
Yes, the TV news audience is older and more likely to vote, in primaries or otherwise. Yes, the video medium is still powerful to hammer a message. But do these examples mean that owning the airwaves is no sure thing for electoral success? That is worth considering. And it seems like on top of so much stress in the traditional media business, especially for legacy TV, this is yet another potential pain point.
In the meantime, I hear general election spots are already running.