Politics

Election-year auction dynamics. You are bidding against democracy.

• Political ad budgets are warming up in the background.

  The consultants have invoiced, the inventory is spoken for, and you just cannot see it yet.

  In effect 01-15 to 06-30 · election years

• Campaign media buyers are already testing against your exact audiences.

  In effect 01-15 to 06-30 · election years

• Primary season has the news cycle in a headlock.

  Attention is in a caucus. Your ads are waiting outside the gym.

  In effect 01-15 to 03-31 · presidential years

• Primary ad spend is distorting auctions in states you do not even sell to.

  In effect 01-15 to 03-31 · presidential years

• Super Tuesday buys cleared out the ad inventory.

  Fourteen states, one day, every impression pre-sold.

  In effect 02-20 to 03-10 · presidential years

• Campaign season is officially ramping.

  Field offices opened, ad accounts got funded, and the auction noticed before you did.

  In effect 07-01 to 08-31 · election years

• It's convention season. The news cycle is a black hole with a balloon drop.

  In effect 07-15 to 08-31 · presidential years

• Running mate speculation is consuming the entire feed.

  Scroll depth is infinite. Purchase intent is not.

  In effect 07-01 to 08-15 · presidential years

• Political fundraising emails have torched inbox placement for everyone.

  Your welcome flow is in a folder with four hundred urgent final notices.

  In effect 07-01 to 11-08 · election years

• Political campaigns have discovered Meta Ads Manager.

  They have budgets, deadlines, and no CAC targets. You have a board meeting.

  In effect Sep · election years

• Auction pressure just became a line item.

  In effect Sep · election years

• After Labor Day, every campaign in America went to full spend.

  In effect Labor Day (7d after)

• Congratulations, you're bidding against democracy.

  The auction does not care that your Q4 depends on this.

  In effect Election Day (35d before)

• Swing-state CPMs have left the atmosphere.

  Pennsylvania inventory is priced like Super Bowl airtime.

  In effect Election Day (35d before)

• Every impression in Pennsylvania has been pre-sold through November.

  In effect Election Day (35d before)

• Debate night owns the evening and the morning after.

  Conversion windows do not survive contact with a live fact check.

  In effect 09-15 to 10-31 · presidential years

• October political saturation has reached the point of parody.

  Users see nine attack ads before your carousel finishes loading.

  In effect Oct · election years

• Early voting started and took national attention with it.

  In effect Election Day (21d before)

• Political mailers have buried every mailbox in America.

  Your catalog is somewhere under six glossy warnings about the future.

  In effect Election Day (30d before)

• Campaign text blasts have desensitized the country to notifications.

  Your SMS flow is now indistinguishable from a plea from a stranger named Mike.

  In effect Election Day (25d before)

• Every YouTube pre-roll is a political ad now.

  Skippable in five seconds, remembered for none.

  In effect Election Day (35d before)

• Everyone is refreshing polling averages instead of carts.

  In effect Election Day (20d before)

• Ballot measure committees have unlimited budgets and exactly one deadline.

  In effect Election Day (21d before)

• Your conversion campaign is competing with every Senate race in America.

  The Senate races have more money and a firmer deadline.

  In effect Election Day (7d before through 2d after)

• It's Election Day. Commerce is emotionally closed.

  In effect Election Day (1d before)

• The whole country is watching a needle.

  It is not the needle on your dashboard.

  In effect Election Day (2d before through 3d after)

• Everyone is doomscrolling results instead of converting.

  Session durations are up. It is not the good kind.

  In effect Election Day (10d after)

• Recount limbo is a national attention sink.

  Nothing converts while three counties are still counting.

  In effect Election Day (10d after)

• The country entered a post-election news detox.

  Screen time is down everywhere except meditation apps.

  In effect Election Day (10d after)

• It's an election year. CPMs are insane.

  In effect Sep, Oct, Nov · election years

• It's a midterm year. Nobody is excited, but the budgets are identical.

  Turnout is lower. Spend is not.

  In effect Sep, Oct · midterm years

• A single Senate seat is outbidding your entire category.

  In effect Election Day (30d before)