{"id":12976,"date":"2012-10-24T05:30:03","date_gmt":"2012-10-24T09:30:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.geneveith.com\/?p=12976"},"modified":"2012-10-24T05:30:03","modified_gmt":"2012-10-24T09:30:03","slug":"who-profits-from-campaign-spending","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2012\/10\/who-profits-from-campaign-spending\/","title":{"rendered":"Who profits from campaign spending?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

The presidential campaign will cost some $4 billion.\u00a0 We worry about so much spending and what special interests contribute so much money.\u00a0 But another question, Michael Wolff points out, is who gets all of that money?\u00a0 The answer:\u00a0 Television stations, despite the way this flies in the face of modern marketing principles:<\/p>\n

Presidential campaigns (and statewide races that ride the national political debate) are expensive in the extreme because they\u2019re tactically focused on convincing the people who are the most difficult and, hence, most expensive to convince. And, arguably, the more money that is spent by both sides trying to convince the undecided helps keep them unconvinced \u2014 hence, requiring more resources in this illogical quest. The two main principles of marketing \u2014 not spending more than the sale is worth; focusing the most resources on the most susceptible buyers \u2014 are thrown out in presidential politics.<\/p>\n

\nBillions are spent not only on the few, but on the diffident, bored, resistant and dumb. (If you haven\u2019t made up your mind by this point, you probably aren\u2019t capable of making up your mind.)\n

Who most directly benefits? Local television stations, and the large media companies that own them. (Among them is USA TODAY parent Gannett, which owns 23 television stations.) Also benefiting are the consultants who buy this media and whose fees are a reflection of the amount of media they buy. Politics is a large and lucrative business offering a clear payoff to a small set of players, who are almost never singled out in the debate about campaign finance reform.If rich men such as Sheldon Adelson ultimately earn some advantage from backing a winner, theirs is a vastly more indirect and uncertain gain than that of station owners and political operatives.<\/p>\n

Curiously, nobody asks the most obvious question. Why do campaigns continue to buy, almost to the exclusion of all other media, local broadcast television? It is more costly and less efficient \u2014 that is, less targeted \u2014 than cable, digital, or even newspapers, all of which attract scant political dollars.<\/p>\n

The answer is probably simple. Broadcast television, with its vast audience and quick reach, is not only the most expensive option (not least because its space is most limited), but its use most efficiently perpetuates a seesaw effect. One candidate\u2019s media buy must be balanced by another candidate\u2019s media buy. The strategic goal becomes about trying to raise more money to spend more money to achieve a minor edge.<\/p>\n

The exact people each campaign should be spending less on end up, to the enrichment of media and consultants, getting vastly greater attention and dollars. The cheapening of the debate is an inevitable side-effect. It\u2019s all about, in 1950s mass market advertising, repetition. It\u2019s a beautiful, and old-fashioned (think selling soap in the 1950s), advertising loop \u2014 the more repetition, the more market share \u2014 benefiting media companies.<\/p>\n

via Michael Wolff: Give campaign ads free TV time<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Wolff goes on to propose a solution:\u00a0 Since television stations are publicly licensed, let\u2019s require them to provide free air time for political campaigns.<\/p>\n

What do you think of that?\u00a0 It seems rather tyrannical to force companies to give away their products for free.\u00a0 And wouldn\u2019t free ads just continue the dysfunctional marketing strategies?\u00a0 It would seem that the solution would be for one or perhaps both candidates to refuse to take the bait, to concentrate their spending on targeted advertising, online and elsewhere.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/blockquote><\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The presidential campaign will cost some $4 billion.\u00a0 We worry about so much spending and what special interests contribute so much money.\u00a0 But another question, Michael Wolff points out, is who gets all of that money?\u00a0 The answer:\u00a0 Television stations, despite the way this flies in the face of modern marketing principles: Presidential campaigns (and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1281,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,36,45],"tags":[65,367],"class_list":["post-12976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-economics","category-politics","category-television","tag-2012-presidential-election","tag-campaign-finance"],"yoast_head":"\nWho profits from campaign spending?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The presidential campaign will cost some $4 billion.\u00a0 We worry about so much spending and what special interests contribute so much money.\u00a0 But another\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2012\/10\/who-profits-from-campaign-spending\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Who profits from campaign spending?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The presidential campaign will cost some $4 billion.\u00a0 We worry about so much spending and what special interests contribute so much money.\u00a0 But another\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2012\/10\/who-profits-from-campaign-spending\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Cranach\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cranachblog\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-10-24T09:30:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Gene Veith\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Gene Veith\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2012\/10\/who-profits-from-campaign-spending\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2012\/10\/who-profits-from-campaign-spending\/\",\"name\":\"Who profits from campaign spending?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-10-24T09:30:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-10-24T09:30:03+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/f9ca8670bcc51908a78994c0484dbfa1\"},\"description\":\"The presidential campaign will cost some $4 billion.\u00a0 We worry about so much spending and what special interests contribute so much money.\u00a0 But another\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2012\/10\/who-profits-from-campaign-spending\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2012\/10\/who-profits-from-campaign-spending\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2012\/10\/who-profits-from-campaign-spending\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Who profits from campaign spending?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/\",\"name\":\"Cranach\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/f9ca8670bcc51908a78994c0484dbfa1\",\"name\":\"Gene Veith\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/054d79faea5d476edd8f99e5f14fb17f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/054d79faea5d476edd8f99e5f14fb17f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Gene Veith\"},\"description\":\"Gene Edward Veith, Jr. is a writer and retired literature professor, serving as Provost Emeritus at Patrick Henry College. He has authored over 25 books on Christianity and culture, literature, classical education, and theology. Dr. Veith previously held academic and editorial roles at Concordia University Wisconsin and WORLD Magazine. A respected voice in Lutheran and classical education circles, he holds a Ph.D. in English and several honorary doctorates. He and his wife, Jackquelyn, live in St. Louis and have three children and twelve grandchildren.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cranachblog\/\",\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gene_Edward_Veith\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/author\/geneveith\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Who profits from campaign spending?","description":"The presidential campaign will cost some $4 billion.\u00a0 We worry about so much spending and what special interests contribute so much money.\u00a0 But another","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2012\/10\/who-profits-from-campaign-spending\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Who profits from campaign spending?","og_description":"The presidential campaign will cost some $4 billion.\u00a0 We worry about so much spending and what special interests contribute so much money.\u00a0 But another","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2012\/10\/who-profits-from-campaign-spending\/","og_site_name":"Cranach","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cranachblog\/","article_published_time":"2012-10-24T09:30:03+00:00","author":"Gene Veith","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Gene Veith","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2012\/10\/who-profits-from-campaign-spending\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2012\/10\/who-profits-from-campaign-spending\/","name":"Who profits from campaign spending?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#website"},"datePublished":"2012-10-24T09:30:03+00:00","dateModified":"2012-10-24T09:30:03+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/f9ca8670bcc51908a78994c0484dbfa1"},"description":"The presidential campaign will cost some $4 billion.\u00a0 We worry about so much spending and what special interests contribute so much money.\u00a0 But another","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2012\/10\/who-profits-from-campaign-spending\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2012\/10\/who-profits-from-campaign-spending\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2012\/10\/who-profits-from-campaign-spending\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Who profits from campaign spending?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/","name":"Cranach","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/f9ca8670bcc51908a78994c0484dbfa1","name":"Gene Veith","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/054d79faea5d476edd8f99e5f14fb17f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/054d79faea5d476edd8f99e5f14fb17f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Gene Veith"},"description":"Gene Edward Veith, Jr. is a writer and retired literature professor, serving as Provost Emeritus at Patrick Henry College. He has authored over 25 books on Christianity and culture, literature, classical education, and theology. Dr. Veith previously held academic and editorial roles at Concordia University Wisconsin and WORLD Magazine. A respected voice in Lutheran and classical education circles, he holds a Ph.D. in English and several honorary doctorates. He and his wife, Jackquelyn, live in St. Louis and have three children and twelve grandchildren.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cranachblog\/","https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gene_Edward_Veith"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/author\/geneveith\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12976","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1281"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12976"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12976\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}