Campaign-period political ads a boon for local media outlets

When a campaign worker called Cynthia Schreen to place a radio advertisement, the sales director at Zimmer Radio Group had to turn down the request. After all, it was 3 p.m. on the afternoon of the election.
“It’s been the biggest I’ve ever seen,” Schreen, a 20-year veteran of the industry, said of this year’s election advertising. The station’s revenue from 2006 political ads increased 70 percent over the 2004 election period, Schreen said. “Even at the end, people felt the need to promote themselves.”

Intense campaigning in this fall’s political races boosted ad revenue beyond early projections. In the days leading up to the election, Advertising Age, an advertising-industry magazine, reported that national political ads were nearing $2 billion, up 17.6 percent from 2004.

Central Missouri television stations komu, krcg and jw Broadcasting-owned kmiz, kqfx and kzou earned a combined $7 million from political ads. As early as August, the stations saw the first bumps in revenue. By the first of October, ad orders were arriving in droves.

“It was the perfect storm for us—the Senate battle, the House battle—and each side had strong support from third parties,” said Matt Garrett, director of audience development for komu, which earned about $2.7 million in political revenue.

For their part, state and local candidates spent nearly $1.5 million on ads at the television stations, with spending led by Jim Talent and Claire McCaskill, who invested about $430,000 each in their bids for a senate seat.

Aggressive campaigning over amendment proposals (which extended to ads flashed on credit card displays at gas stations) accounted for much of local television stations’ revenue. While stations must charge candidates the lowest unit rate for ads, regular market rates can be applied to ads purchased by national committees and local organizations, said Mark Hotchkiss, director of sales at jw Broadcasting. Highly contested ballot issues can bring greater opportunities for earnings than a tight race between candidates can.

“What blew me away was spending on Amendment 2 and 3,” said Hotchkiss. “That’s where the big money came from.”

His stations’ earnings from political ads jumped 30 percent from 2004, he said.

Committee for a Healthy Future, a Missouri tobacco prevention organization, spent about $330,000 to promote Amendment 3 through the television stations. That group’s opponent, Missourians Against Tax Abuse, bought more than $400,000 in ads.

“Amendment issues and third-party dollars can add up to a significant amount of revenue,” said Garrett. “Stem cells were highly competitive, and each side was obviously well funded.”

Missouri Coalition for Lifesaving Cures spent $500,000 at the television stations, the most of any local group.