The 2012 presidential campaign may have fired up Washington, DC local television advertising, but the same can’t be said for the presidential agenda. One exception, President Obama’s “all of the above” stance on energy, has brought out industry big spenders oil, natural gas and coal. But Obama’s other priorities haven’t exactly produced a gold rush of advocacy and influencer-focused advertising on local TV.
Just another trend for DC stations to ride out. Like the area economy overall, local broadcasters may be less vulnerable to outside-the-Beltway conditions but are sensitive to arrhythmias within. Any blockage in the healthy flow of policymaking can impact advocacy ad sales. Like persistent gridlock. Or a 112th Congress that was least productive since anyone started keeping tabs.
The business of Washington advocacy and influencer advertising has become more lucrative but also more diffuse. More corporate brands with public policy interests are joining the alphabet soup of associations and alliances that have always made DC commercial breaks unique. But cable, especially cable news, seems to be the TV platform of choice for these new campaigns.
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