With each successive political cycle, digital
advertising continues to play a more prominent role in campaigns. In the months
leading up to 2012, the Obama campaign began delivering a significant number of
online display ads across the web, outpacing the combined effort of the four
leading Republican campaigns. An analysis of the top 3 web publishers of
display ads for each of the leading Republican candidates reveals an
interesting mix of strategies.
According to Comscore From September 2011 to February 2012, Mitt
Romney for President advertised mostly on Facebook, with 58.2 percent
of its ads coming over the social network – the highest percentage seen
for any candidate so far. Newt 2012 delivered nearly 30 percent of its
display ads through the Drudge Report and more than 20 percent through the
Fox News Digital Network – both sites known to have
conservative leanings.
Meanwhile, Rick Santorum for President
delivered the highest share of its display ad impressions on TheBlaze.com,
Glenn Beck’s political blog owned by Clear Channel. These differences in
strategy suggest that Santorum and Gingrich have been focusing primarily
on primary voters, while the Romney campaign may have always had its eyes
looking ahead to the general election.