Matrix Solutions Finds Value in Local Political Advertising Spend

Using data effectively to better understand the voting public is something that has galvanized political prognosticators and, in thinking about Cambridge Analytica, has also caused great public controversy. Researchers such as Frank Lutz, who recently presented his findings at the DPAA, talk about the emotional impact of negativity on a campaign. But sometimes dollars spent on a campaign have even greater impact than a message. 

Matrix Solutions has recently released a new study that examines the impact of local ad spend and believes that it has the potential to better connect and inform voters on the issues on the local market level in time for Election Day.

According to their press release, Matrix Solutions looked at more than $256 million worth of relevant political ad sales to determine individual and total local broadcast spend of Democratic and Republican senatorial candidates in the toss up states of Arizona, Florida, Indiana, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia for the duration of each state’s 2018 general election campaign.

Matrix Solutions’ Mark Gorman, CEO, and David Weitz, Data Product Manager shared their views on the political value of their company’s data with MediaVillage:

Charlene Weisler: What is Matrix - tell me your company's role in the industry.

Mark Gorman: Matrix Solutions offers media companies solutions to help monetize content and cultivate ad sales approaches. Monarch, our flagship product, is a global ad sales platform capable of transforming chaotic data into actionable sales information. We manage more than $13 billion in media ad revenue and work with outlets in most local markets nationwide.

Weisler: Which senatorial candidates spent the most on local TV?

Gorman: According to our midterms ad spend map which tracked over $256 million worth of local TV political ad sales made on behalf of senatorial candidates in the top 10 Senate toss ups, the Democratic contenders have outspent their competitors by $9.9 million (4 percent). Of the Democrats, Missouri’s Claire McCaskill (D) has spent the most at $20.3 million. She is the incumbent in her race and was first elected back in 2006. Right now she is trailing behind her competitor, Josh Hawley (R), in the polls by 2 points and it’s evident she’s working hard to be re-elected. However, the highest spender across the board is Florida’s Rick Scott (R), who served as the state’s Governor since 2011 and is now running for the Senate. He’s known for using a significant amount of his funds on campaign advertising.

Weisler: What data is accumulated and how is it used to develop insights?

David Weitz: We aggregate booked revenue across nearly our entire customer base, which includes stations in nearly every state, and we pull the data when the industry category or revenue type is political. We also know the station, market, advertiser (in this case political entity), agency and office. To develop the insight we look at each political advertiser (nearly 10,000 of these) and normalize them across all customers. Then we research each to determine whether they are for local or national office, which office, and whether they are Democrat or Republican. In addition to this, research is done to see whom each PAC favors in each state.

Weisler: What is the criteria of campaign donations - do they include individual, PACS etc? Does the percentage of donation types impact results? (for example, more PAC money carries more impact?)

Gorman: Local TV ad spend accounted for in our report is inclusive of purchases made by the candidates themselves or in their favor by entities like PACs, political committees, other organizations, among others.

Weisler: What is it about political ad spend on the local level that can influence the election?

Gorman: Political ad spend holistically is a tool politicians should leverage to raise awareness of their campaigns, but ad spend at the local level can be viewed as a direct avenue for educating constituents on the issues and discussions most pertinent to the communities at hand. Politicians need to recognize local media as an instrument to reaching the eyes and ears of the actual voters – whether undecided or decided – who possess the voting power to support their campaigns at the ballots. Additionally, local media impressions help constituents recognize their important responsibility on Election Day and encourage overall voter turnout.