Purchasing Radio and Television advertising for a local regional or statewide candidate can be a complex and expensive issue. Generally, the more competitive and wider in geographic coverage a candidate needs, the more complex the advertising package will be and greater the overall expense will become. For these reasons candidates should consider utilizing the expertise of a campaign media advisor as the size and complexity of your campaign media communications increases. Additionally, it may be a good idea to consult with a professional advertising agency (even for a small campaign) in order to get the best advise on where to target your advertising purchases. These professionals will know how to obtain the highest coverage for the least amount of money given your campaign's specific geography and target audience.

We have put together a set of questions and answers that most local candidates might ask if they have had no working experience with radio and TV advertising. Although this does not cover the entire subject, it may provide an initial starting point to allow you do some planning and then to develop additional questions prior to contacting a station or advertising agency.

• What does a candidate need to do/know before talking to a Radio / TV station when purchasing ads?

TV and Radio stations do not "prospect" political candidates (actively sell, or send sales people to ask). Candidates have to contact the stations and ask about their services and price structures.

When dealing with political advertising all purchases/sales are subject to public access laws. This means that you can ask each station exactly how much your opponents are spending and their spot placement, stations are required to provide equal access (if you want to purchase it) in terms of frequency and spot placement.

Candidates should ask for a copy of the “general guidelines” for political advertising that are available from each station, these detail each station’s (or group of stations’) policies for the sale and display of political advertising.

Political advertising on Radio and TV are regulated on both the Federal and State level. Federal rules and regulations are published by the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and State level rules by the State board of elections. The State published rules are usually available from the state broadcaster's association.

• When should campaign ads run, how far in advance of the election?

First, develop an overall campaign advertising budget and strategy. Generally; Plan to buy backwards from the election date ...put the highest concentration of ads during the last days before the election and then spread backwards to the extent of the candidate budget. Build to a crescendo! Radio campaigns are usually weighted toward the end of campaign, whereas TV can lead further in advance of the election providing better candidate exposure (better at building the brand). But remember; unless you are running unopposed in the primary, you will need to spend enough on the primary in order to win. Holding funds in reserve for the general election won’t do you any good if you don’t get that far!

First time candidates usually tend to spend more on advertising and need to get out-front earlier to build name recognition, you have to spend more if you are not an incumbent!

•  Who writes the ad copy? 

That depends, on your overall advertising strategy and on your needs for a professional presentation.

Generally, the higher the office the more likely a candidate is to hire the services of professional writers.

•   Who produces the actual ad?

Ads can be produced by either the TV/Radio station or a production company. This decision should logically follow the strategy behind the writing of the ad copy, for a simple local spot, the local TV or radio station will be perfectly capable of handling this job, but if the spot will air over many stations across a large geographic area perhaps a separate production company should be used.

• Is it best to go to purchase an ad campaign from the Radio/TV station or an ad agency?

It doesn't matter from a broadcast airtime cost standpoint, (everything purchased from the broadcaster is NET), and the same rate will be in effect for all candidates. Agencies can help you with your overall message and the strategy, they know the market, they know the audience each broadcaster targets, and they can advise on a package of different stations and media to buy!

• Is it better to buy a package? 
  (combo of radio/TV and outdoor ads)   Who sells these?

That depends, everything has to be paid for up-front, …and cost savings are not a factor, but you might want to have a “baseline” advertising plan in place and adjust it as you get into the campaign. This is one reason you should have a strategy and plan at the beginning of your campaign! Agencies are in the best position to set up a “package” of media products for you to purchase. Some broadcasters own outlets in both radio and TV and can sell you a package within their outlets but their broadcast outlets may not be the optimum place for your message!

• Do you buy ads by the minute, 30 sec, by the 15 sec? 

Radio and TV ads are purchased on a per spot duration basis of usually 60 seconds (Radio), and 30 seconds (TV), although (in some radio stations) you may be able to purchase as little as a 15 second spot. If you must have 15 second spots it might be best to consider “bookends”. This requires you to purchase a 30 second spot, record it as two related 15 second spots, and then ask that they be played with some other advertising in-between them. Prices will be established by station, for each of the spot sizes and may vary depending upon when the spot is to be aired (primetime vs. other).

• What are some relative ranges of costs that candidates should budget for?   

As a rule of thumb: campaigns will spend 80% to 90 % of their advertising budget dollars on radio or TV, as opposed to all other forms of advertising. Internet advertising is increasing rapidly each year as traditional print and television begin to decline in importance and effectiveness.

The following are example ranges only; your specific costs will vary depending upon your market and your campaign advertising strategy.

• TV political advertising costs range from $75 to $2500 per 30 second spot, (depending upon market size and when the spot is aired),
• Radio political advertising costs range from $10 to $50  per 60 second spot, (depending upon market size and when the spot is aired),
• Local candidates might budget to spend $8,000 to $10,000 for their combined radio and TV purchase.
• State level / Regional campaigns might budget to spend $20,000 to $50,000 for their combined radio and TV purchase.
• Statewide (large races) campaigns might budget to spend $100,000 to $500,000 for their combined radio and TV purchase.
• And, Statewide high-profile campaigns (Governor, Senator, Congressman, etc); the sky is the limit, within the confines of campaign spending guidelines.

      (Hot “competitive” races will spend more; incumbents with
        no challenger will spend less)

• Are Political ads more/less expensive than regular product ads? 

Politicians get the best rates (lowest unit rate) available in each time slot. Some stations (generally TV) will offer these spots with the stipulation that you “might” be preempted, and then offer a somewhat higher rate that “cannot be preempted”. Although it may sound tempting to purchase the “guaranteed” spots, this is usually a waste of money. Purchases at the lowest rate are RARELY (if ever) preempted due to the nature and complexity of adhering to the federal advertising guidelines. Complaints that would occur if an ad was preempted would almost certainly draw a federal audit to the station, which is not something any broadcaster wants or should be taken lightly.

• Are there any "Required disclaimers” that must be part of a political ad? …and…
• Are Radio / TV ads less expensive if the candidate is part of the ad (speaks or is seen)? 

Yes, and Yes, and the two questions are related! “Campaign” ads are offered at the lowest rate available, but in order to be a “Campaign” ad the candidate must speak in the ad giving their specific endorsement or approval of the ad! If this is NOT done, then the ad will be considered a “political commercial” and charged the regular commercial rate! There are additional specifics relating to the required disclaimers, make sure you are aware of these rules especially if you use campaign funds to pay for the ads and/or if you are using federal matching campaign funds!