• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, October 13, 2008

With virtually unlimited campaign money, Barack Obama will make another big splash in using network television to get out the word. He's running two big half-hour programs days before the election. All this is like big-event movie marketing -- at lower prices.

The Democratic Presidential candidate may not really need this ad push. He is, at the moment, comfortably ahead of his Republican challenger, John McCain, by 5%, or as much as 11% -- you pick the poll.

Still, like nervous movie marketers who are never sure what the final result will be, the spending doesn't stop. Movie executives are never concerned about overspending as their campaigns move closer to their premieres. That's because -- like the presidential candidates -- they only have one shot.

Unlike movie marketers though, Obama will run his two half-hour specials, on CBS and NBC, in lower profile TV time periods -- a day before the November sweep period begins, and at a somewhat lower cost.

What is Obama's nearly million dollar half-hour time buy actually worth for CBS and NBC? Generally there are five commercial minutes for every half hour of programming, which come out to 10 30-second spots. Obama is paying over $900,000 for each half hour, which comes to the equivalent of $90,000 a spot -- lower than CBS or NBC typically gets in prime time, but in line with the lowest unit price that TV stations and networks must offer a political candidate. At the same time, the networks benefit because, unlike with a comedy or drama, there are no license fees or production costs for the program.

As with some big-budget movies, Obama has seemingly unlimited amounts of media dollars -- because he didn't avail himself of public campaign financing as McCain did.

Theatrical movie selling these days is really about taking one shot. Media dollars do you little good after that first Friday night opening. Like a movie campaign, Obama needs to have a good opening night -- the one on Nov. 4.

For the last couple of Presidential elections candidates have typically taken the more prudent, less-expensive route, media buying on a state-by-state basis, specifically to align their campaigns with the Electoral College playing field.

Obama has done this as well --- but also with an eye towards the bigger stage. McCain has had to keep pace. Both recently made rare and sizable network media buys on NBC for the Beijing Summer Olympics.

That's what movie marketers do: buy the big events, be everywhere, and have a major word of mouth presence so that consumers will be there on opening night .