US presidential election digital ad spend to exceed $1bn
Social networks are set to benefit from a record digital ad spend for the 2016 US presidential election, according to a new study.
Research from Borrell Associates, published in Forbes claimed that over half of all US election digital media spend will be funnelled into social media websites such as Twitter and Facebook.
With political advertising in 2016 set to hit $11.4bn - a fifth more than 2012 - digital media will breach $1bn for the first time. The digital spend represents a 576 per cent increase on 2012’s $22.25m outlay.
Over half of this budget is expected to be invested in social media advertising on Twitter and Facebook, supplemented by their growing targeting options. Twitter’s ‘tailored audiences’ ad targeting tool is one such option, enabling candidates to reach out to select demographics with targeted tweets.
This time around, both Facebook and Twitter also boast autoplay video ads, which could be adopted by those seeking the top job in the White House.
Despite the rising prominence of social networks, the report concluded that Google will still be one of the main benefactors of increased digital budgets.