Political Media Buying to Reach $10.2 Billion in 2022

Written By

Liz Iversen

Published On

Tuesday, Oct 18
I voted stickers on a pile of money

Mid-term political ad spend is set to outpace the 2020 presidential election. PQ Media estimates that political campaigns will spend $10.2 billion in 2022. Inside Radio reports that the 2022 figures are 51.1% higher than the $6.76 billion spent during the 2018 midterms.

Radio, including podcasts, ranks fifth among media platforms based on the share of election ad spend they will receive, said PQ Media Executive VP/Director Leo Kivijarv in a blog post.

SMI’s media buyers have been keeping a close eye on weekly media trends by tracking Media Monitors, reading the trades, and keeping in close communication with our radio group partners. “After seeing an increase in political advertising last week, our partners confirmed that, since we are less than 30 days out from mid-term elections, radio is becoming inundated with political ad spend,” said Heather Hansen, SMI’s Media Director. “The squeeze on inventory will be amplified the next two weeks.”

But the inventory squeeze is no cause for concern for SMI’s clients. “In a political year, and really in any time that inventory becomes constricted by market conditions, we advise our clients to remain nimble with execution,” said SMI’s Director of Client Services Christina Baeten. “We may not be able to buy the same media week over week or month over month, but we’re going to get creative to navigate around these conditions while maintaining performance goals. We are still very much in the drivers seat – we might just need to take a different route to reach the same destination.” 

Are you ready to advertise on the trusted medium of radio with SMI’s experts to guide you? Contact SMI today.

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