Radio and Politics Now Much Better Bedfellows

Story by Inside Radio

Presidential candidates may finally be warming to the inviting, and targetable tones of radio. As stations push for a larger share of political ad dollars in 2016, Republican and Democratic presidential hopefuls are giving local radio more attention—and a larger share of ad dollars.

For instance, iHeartMedia is already seeing gains this election cycle, with political up 30% for the fourth quarter over Q4 2011, according to The New York Times. Radio’s broad reach and low production costs—selling points broadcasters pitch to all ad categories—are making the medium appealing for political ads, strategists note. An effective TV campaign in the Des Moines market would cost $85,000, while a similar radio run would cost $48,000, the Times notes. Production costs for radio are a fraction of TV, and ads can be produced and distributed quickly.

In Iowa, radio airwaves are filling up with ads for Republican primary candidates, including campaign ads, spots by super PACs supporting candidates, and issue groups. TV is littered with political ads and, “You’ve got to find a way around that,” Dr. Ben Carson’s campaign spokesman, Doug Watts, said in the Times. “Radio works.”

Republican hopefuls can effectively reach their constituents on popular conservative talk radio stations. In South Carolina, Democratic hopeful and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is running spots on African-American-targeted hip-hop and R&B stations. For her part, former Senator and First Lady Hillary Clinton recently debuted her first radio ad on African-American-oriented stations, a 60-second spot discussing her mother’s life and Clinton’s own work in South Carolina. So far, Donald Trump’s campaign is avoiding local TV altogether, buying only radio in six states, the Times said.

Radio companies are aggressively courting candidates and issue groups, with radio owners such as CBS, Univision and iHeart tapping new political ad executives to spearhead efforts. iHeartMedia, for one, last month hired Adam Weiss, a former Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee manager, as VP of political strategy.