Mainstream media outlets have been calling out the Trump campaign on its disdain for data and paid media. But why does he need ads when the media cant’t stop covering him?
A survey of 1,660 voters released today by Fluent Political Pulse shows America’s first reality TV candidate pacing Hillary Clinton in ad recall, even though the apprentice standard bearer has only recently started spending on broadcast. Most impressively, more Democrats (49%) claim to have seen Trump ads in the past week than Republicans (44%).
“Because of all the earned media he’s gotten over the past year, it’s creating a perception among people that they think they’re seeing them, even though Hillary has beaten him in every other dimension,” says Fluent CMO Jordan Cohen. “He has charisma, and that’s very rare and very powerful. I read somewhere that his earned media is worth $2 billion.”
MediaQuant recently released a study claiming Trump nailed $400 in earned media last month alone.
Cohen believes that the Clinton campaign is aiming its TV volley at independents and that Trump’s organization–true to its brand marketing, data-deficient form–isn’t targeting any specific voter group at all. Hillary’s tack appears more successful so far. Consumer recall favored Clinton 42% to 35% over Trump in online ads, 41% to 35% on Facebook, and 20% to 14% in direct mail.
Electronic mail remains a soft spot for the Trump campaign, which got into that channel late and never fully developed it as a fundraising mechanism. “That’s going to hurt him in the long run,” Cohen says. “You could have all the awareness in the world, but ultimately you have to have a database marketing strategy for fundraising and to get the vote out.”
And while Dems are owning up to their recognition of The Donald, they report that they hear Hillary louder and stronger. Seventy-three percent of them said they saw Clinton TV spots versus 42% for Trump, and on the web, Hillary had nearly the double the impact on them that Trump did.
Source: Fluent Political Pulse
