Marketing Challenges During the 2024 Election: Expert Strategies for Success

U.S. advertising spending is expected to exceed $12 billion during this election season, creating an overcrowded and expensive landscape. Brands (yes, even B2B) may need to pivot their marketing plans to remain impactful during Q3 and Q4 2024.

We’ve asked our team of experts what they recommend to successfully navigate the marketing and advertising landscape this election season.

How can marketers stay competitive in an election year?

Start planning early. Audiences across all industries will be inundated with political ads. Be ready to adjust your budget to break through the noise, since costs can jump in battleground states — especially 10 to 30 days before the November election.

It’s also crucial to create synergy across different organic and paid marketing channels to maximize reach and effectiveness during the election period. By leveraging a mix of channels, you can ensure that your brand’s message stands out despite the political ad clutter.

– Anna VandeVenter, Director, Digital Marketing Strategy

What is the best approach to tone and voice during this election period?

We strongly recommend maintaining a neutral and inclusive tone in distribution channels, especially on social media platforms. The published content should emphasize your brand's core values without steering into political conversations. 

If relevant to your brand, you can encourage civic responsibility, such as voting, but avoid endorsing any specific candidate or political party. This approach helps your content resonate with a broad audience without alienating any segment.

– Alyssa Young, PR & Content Strategy Director

Which creative strategies can help brands stand out during the election season?

We recommend leaning hard into the core of your brand during election season. Creative strategies should be neutral and strive for broad appeal. Politically charged images or color schemes associated with specific political parties should be avoided. 

Instead, opt for calm, neutral designs that resonate with a diverse audience and align with the brand's color palette. This approach helps prevent your content from being misinterpreted and ensures that it is effective across multiple platforms, particularly mobile devices, where most of the election content and conversations will occur.

– Drew Jones, Executive Director, Creative

How can you proactively prepare your brand's social media channels and ads during an election year?

Managing social media content during the 2024 election requires careful planning and strategic execution before, during, and even after the election to avoid cannibalization, including social media ad campaigns. 

Brands need to be vigilant about budget management and prepared to make quick adjustments as costs fluctuate, especially the increases in CPM (cost per mille/thousand) and CPC (cost per click). While planning your content calendar, it is important for brands to:

• Create informative and stress-relieving content to provide your audience with a break from the political noise.
• Have preapproved responses and/or guidelines for potentially inflammatory discussions during social media moderation to make sure your brand maintains its neutral stance throughout the election cycle.
• Plan social campaigns in advance and adjust any already planned and approved paid tactics to avoid major election dates.
• Navigate strict platform guidelines to avoid having ads flagged or removed. This requires careful consideration of language and content, steering clear of terms or phrases that might be interpreted as politically sensitive.

You can also consider creating informative and stress-relieving content to provide your audience with a break from the political noise.

– Daniel Barrera, Sr. Digital Marketing Strategist - Localized Marketing

What steps should be taken to optimize paid media efforts during the election, and what are the best paid media tactics to use?

Traditional media remains the top destination for U.S. political ads, but Meta platforms and Google are both expected to see strong growth. Additionally, political advertisers love video, so the increased demand for advertising space across media will be felt most acutely on connected TV (CTV) and online video.

Optimizing paid media during an election involves proactive budgeting and strategic planning. Since CPM and CPC are expected to increase, especially in battleground states and in the weeks leading up to the November election, it is crucial to:

• Adjust your campaign budgets accordingly to remain competitive without overspending.
• Secure placements early to help lock in more favorable rates.
• Explore alternative advertising channels and time slots that might offer more cost-effective opportunities.

Elections can be emotionally charged. Marketers should implement smart contextual targeting and consider using allowlists or blocklists to ensure brand safety by avoiding placement next to highly political or controversial content.

– Joe Boswell, Director, Marketing Strategy and Media

What considerations should be made for email and SMS marketing during the 2024 election?

Timing and audience segmentation are critical in email and SMS marketing. As with other tactics, avoid major election dates to prevent your messages from getting lost in the political noise. 

If timing conflicts are unavoidable, adjust your KPIs and benchmarks to account for potentially lower engagement rates. Segment your audience strategically, especially in battleground states, to ensure that your messages resonate effectively without being overshadowed by election-related content.

– Ashley Netzer, Director of Customer Experience and Data

How can a brand safeguard its reputation during the 2024 election season?

Plan, plan, plan — and put it in writing. During an election cycle, companies can quickly be caught off guard or make missteps if they’re not prepared for every scenario. Using your brand values as your guide, get your company ready by:

• Training frequently interviewed employees to avoid making political statements, including preparation on how to respond if the topic comes up for a seemingly nonpolitical story.
• Developing a plan for how you will or will not respond to media requests for commentary about how the election will impact your business or industry.
• Identifying ways your messaging or recent company news could be co-opted as misinformation or to serve a candidate’s political agenda (think layoffs or moving manufacturing operations). Have responses prepared.
• Avoiding announcements of major company news during election week.
• Developing a policy and rationale that outlines whether your company will take political stances externally or internally or host political events. Make sure you have top leadership buy-in.
• Creating contingency plans for unexpected political events that may require pausing or adjusting cross-channel communications.

– Alyssa Young, PR & Content Strategy Director

Lesson for Marketers: Plan Ahead for the 2024 Election

The 2024 election is a few months away, but political implications in marketing are more noticeable now and the marketing landscape will become increasingly challenging, requiring careful planning and strategic adjustments. Brands must focus on preparation as soon as possible, particularly by securing ad placements and adjusting budgets to account for anticipated cost increases.

Ready to proactively tackle your marketing planning during election season? Connect with us for in-depth tips and strategies that help you optimize marketing efforts during this high-stakes period. We're here to help you succeed during the 2024 election and beyond.