Spending Decisions


                                
     
Spending Decisions

With so many groups seeking to influence the presidential campaign through paid advertising, it is interesting to consider how individual groups choose to invest their money.  What states, markets, and specific audiences do they target, what media do they use to reach the targeted audiences, and what messages do they communicate?  The first challenge a group faces is whether it can muster sufficient resources to have an impact.  Next, opinion research helps the group determine its audience and message.  Then the question becomes when and how best to communicate the message with the available resources.  Different media, ranging from broadcast TV, cable, digital, radio, and satellite to print and billboards have advantages and disadvantages.  Most ad spending still goes into broadcast TV.  In terms of timing, a group can choose to weigh in early, run a fairly steady effort during the course of the campaign, tie in with key events, or make a late push.

Data from

Where the Biggest Spending Groups Put Their Money

Top two pro-Biden and pro-Trump groups, May 1-Nov. 3, 2020

FL
 		PA
 		NC
 		MI
 		AZ
 		WI
 		GA
 		NV
 		MN
 		OH
 		TX
 		IA
 		NE
 		NH
 		ME
 		Total
Future Forward
$10.1
 $28.1
 $1.0
 $21.3
 $5.3
 $10.1
 $2.8
 $9.4
 $6.5
 –
 $3.7
 –
 $0.70
 – $0.08
 $118.2
Priorities USA Action*
$13.0
 $11.2
 –
 $15.1
 $6.7
 $9.7
 –
 –
 –
 –
 –
 –
 –
 – – $61.0
America First Action
$20.3
 $33.7
 $14.7
 $1.9
 $6.3
 $17.8
 $3.5
 –
 –
 –
 – –
 –
 – – $113.6
Preserve America PAC
$15.8
 $9.5
 $26.1
 –
 $15.3
 $4.9
 $10.8
 –
 –
 –
 – $12.4
 –
 – – $100.1

*Priorities USA Action is complicated as it partnered with other groups.  The numbers in the table above are just for solo spending.  For example, in Florida in addition to solo spending, Priorities USA Action partnered with five groups to run advertising:

Latino Victory Fund/Priorities USA $4.6m
Priorities USA/Black PAC $3.9m 
Priorities USA/AFT Solidarity $1.9m
Priorities USA/Color of Change PAC $84,498
Priorities USA/LCV Victory Fund $2,546

Data from

Where the Ad Dollar Went

Presidential Ad Spending by Media Type in the Six Top States 

Total Spending by Campaigns, Coordinated and Interest Groups, May 1-Nov. 3, 2020

 Broadcast
 Cable
 Digital
 Radio
 Satellite
FL ($341.2m)
 69.1%
 14.9%
 10.5%
 4.6%
 0.97%
PA ($268.4m)
 69.6%
 15.1%
 10.8%
 3.6%
 0.83%
NC ($154.8m)
 69.3%
 15.2%
 10.3%
 3.5%
 1.6%
MI ($152.0m)
 64.6%
 14.0%
 14.3%
 5.6%
 1.3%
AZ ($140.4m)
 71.8%
 12.8%
 10.3%
 2.7%
 1.6%
WI ($128.8m)
 67.2%
 17.2%
 11.3%
 2.8%
 1.4%

A bit more than two-thirds of ad spending in the presidential campaign from May 1 to Nov. 3 went into broadcast TV, followed by cable, digital, radio and satellite.


Comparison Biden and Trump Campaign Ads Spending by Media Type in the Six Top States

Biden for President, May 1-Nov. 3, 2020

 Broadcast
 Cable
 Digital
 Radio
 Satellite
FL ($111.9m)
 65.7%
 20.7%
 5.0%
 7.5%
 1.1%
PA ($85.8m)
 66.4%
 20.2%
 7.2%
 4.7%
 1.5%
NC ($52.2m)
 62.5%
 25.1%
 4.7%
 5.0%
 2.7%
MI ($50.0m)
 59.6%
 20.6%
 8.7%
 8.4%
 2.7%
AZ ($54.6m)
 74.5%
 14.8%
 3.8%
 4.6%
 2.4%
WI ($38.0m)
 62.5%
 25.6%
 4.4%
 4.1%
 3.3%

Trump for President, May 1-Nov. 3, 2020

Broadcast
 Cable
 Digital
 Radio
 Satellite
FL ($63.4m)
 82.2%
 6.1%
 10.2%
 0.69%
 0.76%
PA ($30.0m)
 76.3%
 8.3%
 14.2%
 0.73%
 0.66%
NC ($32.7m)
 76.8%
 5.1%
 9.8%
 0.60%
 0.71%
MI ($19.9m)
 74.1%
 4.3%
 19.0%
 1.4%
 1.2%
AZ ($23.4m)
 81.8%
 4.4%
 12.6%
 0.51%
 0.71%
WI ($11.3m)
 72.1%
 2.1%
 23.4%
 1.5%
 0.97%

Looking at spending by just the presidential campaigns, the Trump campaign put about 10 cents more of its advertising dollar into broadcast TV than did the Biden campaign.  For the remaining share, the Trump campaign placed a greater emphasis on digital than did the Biden campaign.  Biden for President focused more on cable and on radio than did the Trump campaign.