Political spending in the US is expected to surpass $17 billion in 2024. That’s roughly the size of Nicaragua’s entire economy and far exceeds political spending in countries like the UK ($130 million), Germany ($110 million), and Australia ($300 million) for comparable elections. Only India comes close to matching the US with more than $16 billion in spending on their elections earlier this year, where roughly 637 million people cast ballots. (Americans will also spend more than $12 billion on Halloween this year).
Because of this disparity in funding, US campaigns operate very differently from those in other parts of the world and American-style campaign tactics don’t always translate. Factors such as shorter campaigns, public funding for elections, restrictions on fundraising, and limits on TV advertising help level the playing field internationally.
Anyone who has studied international elections will appreciate how these restraints foster a level of creativity that is rarely found in US campaigns. Just as a haiku can be a beautiful poem with just 17 syllables, limited resources can inspire innovative campaign strategies.
At the recent Berlin Campaign Conference, hosted by TheRepublic, speakers shared several examples from global campaigns that illustrate the necessity of creativity in campaigning. Lorenz Beringer, head of Lobeco, shared a series of posts from Dr. Markus Söder, leader of the Bavarian CSU party in Germany, where he answers questions from school children.
During one session, a child asked him what his favorite snack was, and Söder replied that it was döner kebab, a popular street food in Germany. This response became a recurring meme throughout his campaign and even led to T-shirts.
In the US, because of the financial advantage, campaigns can drive their messages with brute force alone, and this kind of creativity is rarely seen. Indeed, the flood of campaign spending means that campaigns risk being drowned out if they don’t match competitive outlays.
We are well past the point of diminishing marginal returns as TV ad spending reaches saturation levels in competitive battlegrounds. Even more concerning is that platforms where voters now spend a significant portion of their attention do not allow paid advertising generally or political ads specifically.
Campaigners in the US should look to their counterparts abroad for inspiration when it comes to driving key campaign messages with more creative content online.
.png){kind=icon}