Marketing Best Practices Around Election Time
Whether you’re B2B, B2C, or B2G, the tsunami of election advertising will be rocking your boat in the coming months.
Earlier in my career, I was the guy buying up all of the TV, radio, and internet inventory on the first Tuesday in November in pursuit of success.
While I stopped doing that job for political candidates 14 years ago, those who’ve taken my place now gobble up everything there is to buy and target everyone within reach using the all-mighty algorithms of Google, Meta, Twitter, and TikTok.
As a result, unless you are a Fortune 500 company, the noise you make with your marketing is the equivalent of shouting into a gale-force wind.
So what do you do if you’re the CEO of a cleantech startup whose entire valuation is less than either Presidential candidate will spend in one week between now and November?
Here’s some marketing advice from a recovering politico.
Keep Your Opinions To Yourself
Mother Nature unleashes her fury on red and blue states alike. She doesn’t discriminate. Follow her lead.
While your brand might benefit from a DOE loan if President Biden wins, or whether you represent an industry that has broad bipartisan support, your brand should be neutral in this election.
Frankly, unless you live in one of the six states that will determine the outcome in November (Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona, Nevada, Georgia), your opinion doesn’t matter. Joe Biden is going to win California, and Donald Trump is going to win Texas. Nothing will change that, least of all what your company thinks.
Allowing your brand to advocate for a Presidential candidate on your social media feed is purely performative. It might give you a sugar high, but the crash isn’t worth it.
Speak Up Selectively
Over the last several months, I’ve heard from CEO after CEO how private capital that might be invested in cleantech is sitting on the sidelines for two reasons: expensive capital and the uncertainty over the upcoming election.
I advise using this time to build relationships with your local Congressional delegation, Senators, and Governors.
There’s an old saying, “Money is the mother’s milk of politics,” and three months before an election, everyone whose term expires this year needs it.
Be strategic and take advantage of this window of opportunity to host a fundraiser or become an industry co-host. Access is currency in politics, and the more you have, the more candidates and elected officials understand your business and the value it brings to the community they represent.
You don’t have to be a millionaire to gain access. There are limits to what you can donate to candidates at the federal and for (most) state-level offices.
Unlike a President, having your picture taken with a member of Congress or gubernatorial candidate is more than a souvenir. It’s symbiotic. For you, it’s an audience with someone who controls purse strings. For them, it’s third-party credibility to show their constituents that they promote jobs and economic development. They won’t forget it, nor will their senior staff, especially if they have a competitive election.
It’s also fair game and even patriotic to encourage people in your company to vote. Regardless of whether you side with the red or blue teams, everyone can agree that we are blessed to live in a country where we can freely choose our leaders. If your state doesn’t allow easy access to voting by mail, make it easy for your employees to schedule time to make it to the polls on November 5th. It says volumes about your company culture.
Your Issue Can’t Compete
This is for those trying to build community support for their clean energy projects or who have climate-focused legislation at the state and local levels.
Put your ad spend on hiatus no later than October 1. Because campaigns have bought up the inventory on every available medium, ad prices will be sky-high, and you’ll get less bang for your buck.
And while texting and emailing your list of supporters is cost-effective, your open rates and engagement rates will drop precipitously because, like you, your audience is under siege from every campaign from the President on down.
Hold Off On Big Announcements
You and your team have been working for years on your clean technology that will change the world, and you now have third-party validation with a new patent. Or maybe you were one of the lucky few who closed a funding round between Labor Day and Election Day. Or your DOE loan came through.
If you want your audience to notice, wait until after a Presidential winner has been announced. Unless your announcement is germane to the election, journalists will be less interested, and (See #3) your audiences’ inboxes will be packed to overflowing.
You should especially avoid the following periods if you must have a public announcement that can’t wait:
- Republican National Convention July 15-18
- Democratic National Convention August 19-22
- September 9-11—Second Debate and 9/11 Coverage
The good news is that if you find wall-to-wall election coverage maddening, it will be over in less than four months. The bad news (depending on how you look at it) is that we’ll do it again in four years.