The 2012 Election Cycle Is Already Costing You Money

John Shelton If you're like many Americans, you may be completely sick of all those political ads on TV. But you should know that no matter what you do, those ads are already costing you money and airtime. Here's what I mean. I'm in the advertising software business, so I definitely see the increased volume of advertising dollars. Over $50 billion dollars a year goes through our software systems, and so I can tell you how much President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are paying for ads on network TV all the way down to market No. 210 (which, by the way, is Glendive, Mont.). In short, the presidential ad war will likely end up costing both political and non-political advertisers alike. In the first six months of 2012, $1 billion in advertising flowed through STRATA's ePort system, of which 40% was political. So far this year politicians are buying more advertising than any of the large agencies, and half of the top 20 advertisers are political. It's the most expensive election year in history, and here's why it matters to you, even if you dislike politics. ABOUT THE AUTHORJohn Shelton is the president-CEO of Chicago-based STRATA.

The 2012 Election Cycle Is Already Costing You Money

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