• by Christopher M. Schroeder , July 26, 2004

The thermometer approaches 100. The humidity makes it feel like 110. Frequent gusts of hot air makes it seem even hotter. Time seems to almost stand still. Moods are both ebullient and cranky. People dress as if they do not care who sees them. Any excuse to avoid work, and find a party, is the rule of the day.

This can all mean just one thing.

Yes, my friends, 'tis the season. It is political convention time!

And as a good convention actually is, in point of fact, the nation's longest, continuous running political advertisement, it seems fitting and proper in this column to ask, "What is the state of political advertising online?"

The polls show a surprising amount of "undecideds" in this one. Money is being spent, early results are very favorable - but the political purse strings are not yet up to their compatriots in the business world.

At one level, you'd think 2004 would be the year. If political marketing mavens were to create a medium that best suits their most fundamental needs - raising money, creating awareness, mobilizing volunteers, driving interaction with positions, getting out the vote - they would have invented online advertising.

Think about it. Over 150 million Americans are online hours a day, every day. The vast majority are online at a time of day no other medium is reaching them - at work. They are on-task, not getting up to make a sandwich during television commercials. They are bright, educated, well-heeled. A whole generation voting for the first time this year grew up not knowing a world without the Internet. With online advertising, you can reach mass audiences, or target almost any demographic. You can marry all the benefits of advertising and direct marketing in one buy. And, you can measure your results with unprecedented precision; traditional media pales in comparison.

Let me give a personal example to underscore the point. I am a political junkie. I've served in several political races, both national and local, and political advertising fascinates me. I actually read those four-page, direct mail letters from the candidates cover to cover. If I could, I'd TiVo every political ad that comes across my television.

I can therefore quote, almost verbatim, political advertising from our last local races in Virginia, 2002. And here lies the problem: I don't live in Virginia. I live in Maryland. If television is the coin of the realm of political advertising, there sure is a lot of waste out there. In each election cycle, candidates spend millions to reach a whole lot of folks that can never vote for them. And even when buyers try to refine their targeting through cable, how do they really know if they've engaged their voters and driven them to act?

So why are political buyers lagging corporate marketing in their appreciation of, and spending in, interactive advertising?

Politicos are notoriously conservative (small "c") and risk averse. You might be, too. There's no margin for error in a political race. You win or you lose, period. Not many media buyers want to raise their hand and say they spent $1 million online which could have gone to TV, but they should. And, the smart ones are taking note and leading a quiet shift.

They have learned through experience of four clear benefits. First, with greater broadband penetration, they can now create visually alluring, arresting, and viral images. Second, they can utilize an unmatched level of interactivity and engagement - driving folks to sign up for newsletters, visit their Web sites, dig deeper into their issues. Third, they can have the flexibility and rapid response to change their messages and themes on the fly - critical in the last days before election. Finally, they are able to target their ads by almost any demographic or online behavior. None of this is possible in traditional advertising.

I have seen aggressive buys on quality Web sites for some time now, where candidates blend these benefits in order to convey a message ("better schools") with calls to action ("now make a change" or "send $50") and in so doing, they build communities of support for their causes.

Though resistant to go on the record ("why should I tell my opponent what works?"), every innovative campaigner I've talked with this summer feels the shift happening. John Durham, who has been doing some leading work in online ad buying for the Republicans, told me that after this year, there will be little doubt of the benefits, which means big money is not far away.

Old habits die hard, but facts tend to will their way to the surface. And the tipping point is close. The smart and the innovative are putting their money where their mouths and the voters are: online.