Political Advertising’s Coming AI Transformation

Everyoneamp8217s agreed on yet another record vs the 2022 Midterm cycleDrilling down AdImpact projects House and Senate races to reach 5 billion for House races a record 22 billion for Senate races 28 billion slightly outpacing 2024 Given the tight DemocratGOP balance in both houses the stakes are high Our own latest count has 17 amp8220tossupamp8221 seats for Congress and 23 races that lean one party or anotherDrilling down further state legislative and other downballot contests are projected to account for an estimated 39 billionAt late August 2025 more than 900 million had already been spent far ahead of the pace in 2023 and 2021So whereamp8217s it being spentCTVamp8217s growing fast per AdImpact itamp8217s projected to increase to 25 billion 23 of all political ad spending Local broadcast TV still rules the roost though with a more modest growth trajectory Local cable spending is expected to hold steady on linear platforms with growth opportunities in targeting and of course MVPDs are growing their CTV ad footprints and capabilitiesCTVamp8217s growth has been driven by campaigns prioritizing datatargeting and efficiency but linear TV is poised to play bigger here as Iamp8217ll detail furtherIn terms of key races and states per AdImpact California is poised to top the field with a projected 11 billion followed closely by battleground Michigan with open seats for Senate and Governor at a projected 936 million Texas Georgia and North Carolina are projected to produce more than 550 million each Presumably competitive gubernatorial races loom in Arizona Georgia Michigan Nevada and WisconsinIssues spending too will surge Immigration and economicfocused ballot initiatives especially promise to make an impactSo what are we seeing at ViamediaLetamp8217s start with ballot advertising Womenamp8217s health issues are not seeing as much pre2026 activity but spending on other issues is truly popping including of course redistricting ballot measures as well as healthcare Medicaid climate and tariff policyAmong candidate races weamp8217re expecting more primary challengers taking on incumbents weamp8217re already seeing 2026 race dollars earlier than prior cyclesAnd these advertisers are going where the audience is sports programming Weamp8217re seeing lots of sports orders vs years pastGiven Viamediaamp8217s very large footprint across battleground states we expect an exceedingly busy cycleAnd it promises to get even busier thanks to the inevitability of AI in the political advertising processIn January 2025 I cited forecasts of a growing role for AI in advertising generally and events are playing out as projectedThe benefits of widespread adoption can be summarized as a leveling of the playing field For smaller noncyclical advertisers like SMBs it enables them to play in the Big Leagues and leverage the branding power of TV while reducing their dependence on social for starters they can now produce TVquality spots inexpensively According to a Digiday report 41 of SMBs whose ad budgets in recent years have been dominated by Meta and Google would advertise on a new platform if they had access to better creative tools per a National Research Group surveySimilarly for even the most bootstrapping political campaigns AI is making multiplatform video advertising more accessible and affordable enabling them to punch up vs betterfunded adversariesHere are some of the myriad ways in which AI promises to transform political advertisingContent Creation Campaigns can use generative AI to produce volumes of content quickly fundraising emails targeted social ads personalizedcustomized messages and of course impactful highquality video ads suitable for linear and digital TV consumption Various tech providers and platforms are already announcing budgetconscious solutions to capitalizeStreamlining and efficiency in the adbuyingadorder process a particular focus for Viamedia and among the many ways weamp8217re innovating on clientsamp8217 behalfPrecision targeting AI will take geotargeting to new levels another particular focus for Viamedia Think of being able to reach a majority of voters within a single Congressional district with negligible spillover beyond that districtamp8217s borders Youamp8217ll be hearing much more from us about this as the Midterms approachAI of course brings its share of challenges to the political marketplace The quotdeepfakequot threat and proliferating quotslopagandaquot risk eroding public trust in media platforms The current regulatory environment is fragmented a patchwork of state laws on disclosure requirements and civil action and stillevolving federal oversight by the FEC and FCC As for Congress the Protect Elections from Deceptive AI Act and the AI Transparency in Elections Act have yet to be enacted As for industry selfregulation some AI companies have implemented voluntary policies but users have unsurprisingly found ways to bypassWeamp8217ll be here to help campaigns navigate all these waters the calm and turbulent seas alikePosted at MediaVillage through the Thought Leadership selfpublishing platformClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillageorgMyersBizNet

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Political Advertising’s Coming AI Transformation

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David Solomon

"About That with Carl Mayer:" Alaina Donnellon (Episode 10: Political Spending) - By Carl Mayer

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Political Advertising’s Coming AI Transformation

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