Ten Things Obama Can Do With All That Money

Are You Ready for Some Football?

Posted by Evan Tracey on 06.20.08 @ 03:40 PM

Evan Tracey

I was shocked to find out this week that there is indeed gambling in casinos and Barack Obama was forgoing public fundraising for this fall's election. So I thought it was my duty to give him 10 ideas on how to best spend all his money this fall. (Aside from spending it on advertising during the Olympics.)

Hire every available Democratic media consultant. This should be done not because he needs the help on his ad teams, but because if everyone is on his payroll then they won't be able to work for 527s or talk to the media and thus complicate the Obama message.
Buy a lot of radio and cable ads in swing states. It will be hard to get a significant edge in buying only local broadcast TV because these swing states will be already sold to capacity. John McCain will be given equal access, and down ballot advertisers will also need to be on TV. However, Obama will be able to flex his financial muscle within other "non-traditional" media.
Target the sports talk radio demographic both locally and nationally. Sorry to all the minivan-driving soccer moms, but this year the path to the White House for Obama is paved with male voters. Sports talk radio is a great way to speak to men. If McCain is to win this fall he will need to get maximum turnout of males 18-55. If Obama can perform well with this group it should be enough to win the race.
Fall is for live sports. Buy ads on college football, the Ryder Cup, Major League Baseball playoffs and, yes, the NFL. Just one observation: Week three of Division I college football is Sept. 13 (the Saturday following the GOP convention) and features such gem games as Hawaii vs. Florida, Michigan vs. Notre Dame and Ohio State vs. USC. Can you imagine how many battleground state match-ups there will be before November?
Run 60-second ads. Obama's general election ad campaign began with a 60-second ad. Sure they cost more, but who cares?
Make blockbuster web videos. This election is about communicating with the two biggest voting blocks -- the baby boomers and their kids. They make up a sizable piece of the electorate now and they consume media in very different ways. Obama should have the money and the talent to talk to all voters on the medium they are most comfortable using.
Buy TV ads in all 50 states the day after the Democratic National Convention. It's a token act, but a visible sign to say you are running for all Americans.
Make "live" political ads. This would be very cool (and expensive) -- I envision a new ad every day aired from the places in America to which he wants to bring change. Something like "This is Barack Obama and today I am in Ward 8 in New Orleans. ..." Then the next day from Crawford, Texas (you get my drift).
Look into buying ad space from skywriters, pump-top TV, rooftops near airports, elevators screens, cellphones, mall kiosks. It's all good when you have money to burn.
See if Ron Paul will loan out that blimp.

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Evan Tracey is the founder and chief operating officer of Campaign Media Analysis Group, a TNS Media Intelligence company. See his complete bio.

4 Comments

By evanwolf | Oakland, CA June 21, 2008 11:07:53 pm:

I can't believe you didn't budget for online. Where's your interactive engagement spend?

And as for "money to burn", any fool can throw away advertising dollars. Ad Age spills those beans regularly. So what discipline would you bring to be sure every last penny is well spent? What would you do online to help people engage with the campaign, to find meaning in the election, to relate to the candidate?

Surely online isn't just a distribution channel for "television" commercials?

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By TOM | NEW YORK, NY June 23, 2008 09:07:40 am:

There should be a reason for surprise, if not shock.
For one, no Presidential candidate since Watergate has opted out of public financing for the lure of unlimited spending.
For another, he actually pledged last Fall to take public financing.
He does need some discipline over the folks who throw his money around. He outspent Hillary Clinton 5-1 in Pennsylvania and lost bigtime.
When a pol who represents change and hope and a new way of looking at things, breaks a promise, he might find that his reputation was worth more than the 300 or 400 hundred million he'll throw at the Olympics and The World Series to build his brand and become like unto a Snickers bar.

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By CynicalSiren24 | Indianapolis, IN June 23, 2008 10:12:16 am:

"Sorry to all the minivan-driving soccer moms, but this year the path to the White House for Obama is paved with male voters."

Really, Evan? Really? Can you back up that argument, lest you sound backwards and sexist? Because I've heard time and time again that women voters are going to be very important in this election. Even if that's not the case, as only 49% of the population, it's pretty obvious that this election can't just revolve around men. Thanks for disregarding the value of our suffrage.

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By EvanTracey | Alexandria, VA June 24, 2008 08:17:44 am:

1. The importance of the male voters is well documented in recent CNN (and others) analysis of polls showing Obama doing better among men that past democrats running for prez -- so if he wins with men it's over

2. on-line - great for organization and fundraising -- not so good for the persuasion of swing voters.

Thanks

Evan

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