Warren campaign details first-ever television ad buys in a new memo

Posted By: Staff
September 24, 2019 @ 1:26 pm
ABC Politics

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3dfoto/iStock(NEW YORK) — 2020 candidate Elizabeth Warren is making a major investment in her first set of television ads in the presidential race, marking a new phase of her campaign focused on reaching out to a wider span of voters.

Warren’s campaign is buying ads in the first states in the nation to vote — Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina — and plans to spend eight-figures on both television and digital ads as they head into the fall, according to a memo from campaign manager Roger Lau that was sent to supporters on Tuesday morning.

It’s one of the largest investments in media advertising announced by any of the presidential campaigns in the cycle thus far.

Warren, who has seen a steady rise in the polls over the summer months, recently came the closest yet with front runner Joe Biden in an Iowa poll since the race began. Released last weekend, the poll from the Des Moines Register and CNN showed a virtual tie, with Warren holding onto a two-point lead over Biden but within the margin of error. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders fell to a distant third.

“We’re launching an eight-figure digital and TV advertising campaign in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina to make sure we’re getting Elizabeth’s plans for big, structural change in front of voters and caucus-goers,” Lau wrote in the memo. “If you’ve been to one of our campaign events in the early states or across the country, chances are you might be part of our ads.”

The campaign did not give a breakdown of how much of the eight-figure budget would go toward which type of media — or how many tens of millions they would sink into the effort — but Lau wrote in the memo that they planned to spend more on “digital than old-school broadcast television.”

The decision to spend more online highlights a trend of the 2020 cycle to put more money into reaching voters on social platforms, which allow campaigns to pick and choose who they target, rather than traditional TV, which is a more blanket medium that hits anyone tuned into the channel when it airs.

So far, the only other Democratic candidate who has spent eight figures on digital and television ads is billionaire candidate Tom Steyer, who has spent over $18.5 million, with about $11.4 million of that going to television air time and $7.1 million on online ads.

In comparison, Warren, as of last week, has spent just under $5 million on Facebook and Google ads, according to digital ad transparency data.

In total, Democratic presidential hopefuls’ ad spending has reached $55 million, with more than $42 million going into online ads and at least $13 million on television ads from eight candidates that have already gone on air, according to CMAG television ad data.

And Warren isn’t the only one in the 2020 Democratic field to ramp up the on-air battle this month. Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet launched his first television ad campaign last week, and South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg on Monday launched a new television ad, purchasing $160,000 worth of air time for the week, according to ad service firm Advertising Analytics.