The share of political ad spending long held by broadcast television took a major dive in 2016 as campaigns in Louisiana and across the nation turned their attention to online platforms. It\u2019s yet another sign that the media landscape is in transition \u2014 and that the shift could help color Louisiana\u2019s campaigns to come.<\/p>\n
On the production side of political advertising, basic operations such as writing, shooting and editing expanded last year, as the final product \u2014 commercials and campaign spots \u2014 grew shorter.<\/p>\n
Broadcast television in particular appears to be facing a major challenge. This may prompt a change in selling strategies in the coming years. Compared to 2012, broadcast television\u2019s overall share of political ad spending nationally slipped 13 points to 45 percent last year, according to the Virginia-based Borrell Associates, which produces advertising reports for the industry.<\/p>\n
At the same time, digital spending on social media and video sharing platforms increased nearly eightfold, up to a 14-percent market share.<\/p>\n
Those trends were seen in Louisiana, said Jared Arsement, of Lafayette, who has managed media campaigns for Gov. John Bel Edwards and state Supreme Court Justice Jimmy Genovese. \u201cTV, radio and newspapers have had to compete for the first time with addressable formats like digital and direct mail,\u201d he said. \u201cCable has been slow to catch up on addressable in Louisiana, but when it does it will help pick up some of the slack on the TV side for broadcast.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rather than buying into programs on broadcast television, addressable buys allow campaigns to use data gathered about voters to reach them on the household level in real time. In other words, technology now allows campaigns to purchase very specific audiences or households, rather than the audience that happens to be viewing a specific program.<\/p>\n
The Borrell report shows how digital platforms online, cable and direct mail in 2016 gained $1.7 billion over 2012 spending levels. Radio, TV and newspapers on the other hand lost nearly $1.3 billion.<\/p>\n
Moving forward, local media buyers and consultants expect broadcast television to have to start selling political airtime, whereas in the past it was a guaranteed book of business. \u201cThey\u2019re going to have to be more accommodating, and their pricing will have to be competitive,\u201d said Arsement. \u201cI don\u2019t think that\u2019s a bad thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Political Firm\u2019s Jason Hebert, of Baton Rouge, who manages media for Majority Whip Steve Scalise and Congressman Mike Johnson, said the shift to targeted media has changed the way his company operates. While you can get away with a single shoot for a broadcast commercial, shooting for specific digital audiences \u2014 from Republican fishermen to soccer moms and everything in between \u2014 requires several scripts.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have to get it all,\u201d said Hebert. \u201cThe front-end production has really increased, but it\u2019s worth it. The return on the dollar for these targeted expenditures is worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n
With social media and web campaigns requiring video that\u2019s shorter than what typically appears on TV, the length of the spots being produced is changing as well. \u201cOver the course of the last cycle, we produced more 15-second spots than 30-second spots,\u201d Hebert said.<\/p>\n
But don\u2019t engrave any tombstones yet. Through it all broadcast, TV maintained its title as overall champion, snaring $4.4 billion in 2016, or three times more than any other competing medium, according to the Borrell report, which offered this conclusion: \u201cThe real story wasn\u2019t what happened as much as what changed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Capital City Turns 200<\/strong><\/p>\n A blood-colored cypress stick, slathered with dead fish and animal parts, is what greeted French explorers as they navigated the Mississippi River near Scott\u2019s Bluff in modern-day Baton Rouge during the closing moments of the 17th century.<\/p>\n The red pole was a fence of sorts for the hunting grounds used by the Houma and Bayagoula tribes. Led by Sieur d\u2019Iberville, the party of Frenchmen dubbed it \u201cle baton rouge\u201d \u2014 or \u201cred stick.\u201d<\/p>\n There would be several attempts in the distant future to change the name of a city christened for a critter-filled stick. But the name stuck. And apparently it was the perfect locale for the seat of state government and our Legislature, which represents a whole different kind of hunting grounds.<\/p>\n The Capital City just celebrated the 200th anniversary of the incorporation of Baton Rouge. There\u2019s a bicentennial website \u2014 www.BatonRouge200.com \u2014 that details the events planned and offers up a bit of history.<\/p>\n Cabinet Change Follows Push By Lobby<\/strong><\/p>\n After a year of fighting the former Wildlife and Fisheries secretary on a number of fronts, leaders in the field of recreational interests are hopeful for 2017 as state Rep. Jack Montoucet, of Crowley, takes over the top hunting and fishing regulatory job in Louisiana.<\/p>\n Montoucet, an alligator farmer by trade and a former fire chief, replaces Charlie Melancon, who was forced out of the secretary position after getting crossways on red snapper management issues with the Edwards administration, Congressman Garret Graves, the Louisiana chapter of the Coastal Conservation Assoc. and others.<\/p>\n Melancon also made a big issue out of past fiscal management practices at the Dept. of Wildlife and Fisheries, which is something Montoucet has said he will zero in on. \u201cI understand the seriousness of the issues raised by a recent audit, and the governor and I are committed to making the necessary reforms to this agency,\u201d Montoucet said.<\/p>\n Edwards has the authority to appoint the secretary. He earlier served in the House of Representatives alongside Montoucet.<\/p>\n For recreational interests, who complained that Melancon was taking the side of commercial fishermen on matters like red snapper management, there\u2019s a growing optimism about a more even-handed political approach from Montoucet \u2014 a commercial harvester of alligators.<\/p>\n Right now Patrick Banks, assistant secretary of the Office of Fisheries, is serving as the interim secretary. Montoucet will officially take over on Jan. 16 and his seat in House District 42 will become vacant, requiring a special election.<\/p>\n In that House race, Jay Suire, a Republican attorney with the Glenn Armentor Law Corp., has announced he will be running.<\/p>\n The Acadiana House seat, held during the last three terms by Montoucet, a Democrat, has long been targeted by the Louisiana Republican Party.<\/p>\n Emerson Gig Temporary<\/strong><\/p>\n Freshman Rep. Julie Emerson, R-Carencro, has been spending time in Washington, D.C., while leading the transition for Congressman-elect Clay Higgins, who now represents the 3rd Congressional District.<\/p>\n Politicos, though, probably shouldn\u2019t hope for a special election in the state House. Emerson said recently via text that there\u2019s \u201cno chance of resigning or anything of that nature.\u201d<\/p>\n 3rd Circuit Race Shifts<\/strong><\/p>\n The open seat on the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal being vacated by state Supreme Court Justice-elect Jimmy Genovese is starting to shape up \u2014 beginning with a quick exit from Judge John Trahan, who was expected to run.<\/p>\n The field now has two new maybe-candidates, including former Judge Susan Theall and assistant district attorney Roger Hamilton, Jr.<\/p>\n Already announced as having a campaign staff is Candyce Perret, a Lafayette attorney and small business owner.<\/p>\n But the most interesting twist in this developing race comes courtesy of state Sen. Jonathan Perry, R-Abbeville, whose name was included in a recent telephone poll. Perry said he wasn\u2019t involved in the poll, although he\u2019s being encouraged to consider the race. \u201cWhich is always very humbling,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I\u2019m not seeking that vacant seat. I\u2019m happy to continue my representation of Senate District 26.\u201d<\/p>\n Louisiana\u2019s Missing Electoral Votes<\/strong><\/p>\n With the election of Donald Trump, we finally found out who would get Louisiana\u2019s eight electoral votes \u2014 not that the November election left much of a mystery in its wake.<\/p>\n But did you know there were actually two years in Louisiana\u2019s colorful political past when no presidential candidates received the state\u2019s electoral votes?<\/p>\n In 1864, when Louisiana left the Union during the Civil War, the state didn\u2019t even participate in the presidential election. Ten other states offered up zero electoral votes as well. But in the end, Abraham Lincoln was still re-elected president by a very healthy margin.<\/p>\n And then in 1872, Louisiana\u2019s electoral votes were rejected by the federal government due to irregularities. As such, the state\u2019s votes weren\u2019t included in the final electoral tally, although the state supported incumbent President Ulysses S. Grant, who went on to win re-election.<\/p>\n The disorder related to accusations of votes being fabricated. Voters turned violent in response to the allegations, thus prompting the federal government to get involved.<\/p>\n For more Louisiana political news, visit www.LaPolitics.com or follow Jeremy Alford on Twitter @LaPoliticsNow.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The share of political ad spending long held by broadcast television took a major dive in 2016 as campaigns in Louisiana and across the nation turned their attention to online platforms. It\u2019s yet another sign that the media landscape is in transition \u2014 and that the shift could help color Louisiana\u2019s campaigns to come. On [&hellip<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":2376,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[63,32],"yoast_head":"\n