The presidential candidate who drove the most spending on television advertising is out of the race, giving positive proof for digital strategists fighting for more respect in the ad budget. Team Jeb dropped $77 million on TV by the time all was said and done, accounting for nearly 2 percent of the $4.4 billion CMAG projected will be spent on TV advertising for all elections in 2016 without even making it to March. That said, don’t eulogize so-called “wasteful” or “inefficient” TV advertising just yet. In competitive races TV always has been, at best, a blunt instrument that helps at the margins. That margin for impact shrinks even further in a crowded, single-by-state stretch of primaries with everyone aiming at basically the same voters. A two-way battle across 10 or more states is a different story. In the general election, TV ad optimizers will have more room to run. Unlike in 2012, the GOP has bought into data science and this year will see a fairer fight. No more copying, pasting and submitting the same buy orders week after week
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