Online Advertising in Politics – by Ted Dhanik

Political advertising has been around in some form since there was an established political system.  Particularly with the invention of the television, political campaigns were broadcasted to the general public in a new way.  Throughout the decades, political advertising has mostly been achieved through magazines, newspapers, radio and television commercials.

There are two main types of political ads.  These ads are usually either sponsored by a politician to criticize their opponent or they’re backed by the political action committees (PACs) to promote a particular candidate.  The goal of any political ad is to influence voters in their decisions.  As media technology continues to grow and expand, the world of political campaign advertising has begun to change drastically.

Internet advertising for political campaigns is becoming more mainstream than ever before.  This can be achieved through display advertising.  Display ads are typically presented on websites as either a pop up window, a banner, or an ad on the side of a webpage.  Generally these ads direct viewers to a different website.

Political display ads are a great way to promote politicians as well as to interfere with their campaigns in a negative way.  No matter which way these ads are used, they have been shown to generate interest in the constituents and political issues.  In addition to specific politicians, display ads are a great tool to promote awareness on specific political issues and local propositions.

One of the advantages of display ads online compared to television commercials is that they can be tailored for specific webpages.  Due to the specific audience targeted, these ads can garner more support in politics than other types of ads.

Author bio: Guest post is submitted by Ted Dhanik, the president and co-founder of engage:BDR.  engage: BDR creates engaging advertising that has reached over 200 million users.  This top media company is skilled at driving traffic, creating leads, and building brand recognition.  Ted Dhanik has his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Marketing from California State University, Hayward.  Ted Dhanik was previously the VP of Strategic Marketing for Myspace for over five years.