The colors are shifting on the political landscape, and Q4 is breathing down our necks.
Amidst all the hustle and bustle of late-year planning, brands and agencies are scrambling to strategize their beautiful ad campaigns. And while election years may have marketers feeling like they're walking a tightrope, the worst mistake they can make is hitting the pause button.
Every fourth quarter brings its own unique challenges for digital marketers, but an election year throws those challenges into overdrive. Competition becomes fierce, ad inventory tightens up, and consumer sentiment can swing wildly from one week to the next.
It’s like playing a game of Whac-A-Mole with your brand’s messaging: just when you think you’ve nailed down a strategy, the ground shifts again. So, what's the answer? It’s not to stop. It’s to adapt.
1) Be Nimble or Be Left Behind
In a year riddled with uncertainties, agility becomes a marketer's best friend. Flexibility isn't just a buzzword; it’s the cornerstone of success in environments that can change as quickly as election sentiment. You need to think like a startup: test, iterate, and pivot. A flexible approach lets you stay in the game, adjusting your tactics and optimizing your spend to capture every opportunity—even when everyone else is panicking and pulling back.
Let’s be honest: election cycles turn the digital ad market into a free-for-all. Political campaigns dominate ad space, driving costs sky-high and making the competition for eyeballs even more cutthroat. If it’s your first time advertising during an election, buckle up, because it’s not going to be a smooth ride. But if you've been here before, you know that pulling your ads is just waving a white flag. Instead, lean into the challenge and use it to innovate.
2) The Brand Safety Illusion
Why do so many brands get nervous during election season? It's simple: they’re worried their carefully crafted campaigns will end up cozying up to a controversial political ad. In fact, Forrester's Q4 2023 survey found that a whopping 82% of U.S. consumer marketers had concerns about brand placement during election coverage. And here we are again, facing another election, and not much has changed.
But here’s the kicker: avoiding advertising altogether doesn't solve the problem—it just ensures your brand gets zero visibility during one of the highest-traffic periods of the year.
Origin's award-winning Native CTV ad solution - Slingshot - is designed to cut through that anxiety. Think of it as your brand's very own protective bubble: a tool that transforms any ad placement into a safe zone, no matter how heated the surrounding political climate. It’s a straightforward solution that provides brand safety without having to sacrifice reach.
Here is a 90 second video to help explain how our off-the-shelf and instantly available version of the award-winning Native CTV ad format works:
3) Consumers Want a Break from Politics
There's data to back this up. Forrester found that 79% of consumers prefer brands to steer clear of political positions. Younger audiences might be more receptive to brands taking a stand, but a vast majority of the market is looking for a reprieve. As a brand, this is your opportunity to deliver. Lean into creative that offers escapism—a chance for people to forget the 24/7 political noise and connect with something refreshing.
4) Don’t Hit the Pause Button When Your Competitors Might
Let’s get real about timing. From Halloween through the end of the year, every week is a golden opportunity for advertisers. Consumers are in buying mode, holiday spirit is in full swing, and people are primed to engage. Yes, political ads will spike, but so does consumer activity—and pulling back when the market is ripe just hands your competitors an unearned advantage.
5) Turning the Challenge Into an Opportunity
Remember, in every challenge lies an opportunity. If others are backing off, it leaves more room for you. If consumer sentiment is volatile, that means more chances to test, learn, and adapt. Just as in a Lean Startup, you need to embrace the uncertainty, make data-driven decisions, and be willing to adjust on the fly.
By taking a dynamic, adaptable approach and leveraging tools like Origin's Slingshot, you can ensure that your brand not only survives but thrives in the chaos of an election year.
So, stop worrying about whether your ads might be next to a candidate’s spot, and start thinking about how to make your brand’s message the one that sticks in the minds of consumers hungry for something different.
Keep advertising. Keep adapting. And remember: in the world of marketing, fortune favors the bold.
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Origin is an award-winning Creative Technology company whose zero code CTV ad formats enable marketers to deliver dynamic and responsive ad experiences in the living room and outside the home.
With unparalleled creative capabilities and proprietary ad serving technology, Origin’s off-the-shelf and custom solutions are trusted by agencies, brands, creative teams and programmatic platforms who want the ads they run to get the attention, engagement and outcomes they deserve.
Founded by media veterans Stephen Strong and Fred Godfrey, Origin is driven by the belief that to win a viewer today, we must look beyond how it was done yesterday.
Learn more at: originmedia.tv
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