Thanks for the reminders, Mr. Mayor!

By Louis Maldonado

Last week, we witnessed many wild twists and turns in the democratic primary race, resulting in what was seen as victories to some and disappointments to others. A lead theme heading into Super Tuesday was the public’s reaction to Mike Bloomberg and his alleged attempt to buy his way into the presidential election, where everyone focused on the $500+ million spent to pitch his candidacy to the nation. His opponents grabbed onto that point to remind the world of his billionaire status and effectively position him as a Republican in Democrat’s clothing. His lackluster debate performances did little, if anything, to build his case, let alone refute his opponents’ accusations and attacks, but he did remind the world of something very critical: when done well, advertising works! He went from not being in the game to polling as the #2 candidate behind Bernie leading up to the Nevada debate and primary, doing so in just 13 weeks!  

Why do I raise this as something new and important? Thursday night, Elizabeth Warren sat down with Rachel Maddow to discuss her campaign, her experiences while in the race and her thoughts about our nation and her future as one of our nation’s leading elected officials. At one point in the interview, Warren states that, in retrospect, she would have spent less money on advertising and more money on her grassroots ground game and field organizations. Perhaps she said this realizing that her $27MM investment in advertising, as reported by Kantar, put her in a position where she was being out-shouted by Bloomberg, but as an ad guy, I found this so ironic because, despite Bloomberg’s disappointing performances in the Nevada and South Carolina debates, he beat Warren to place third behind Biden and Sanders in 9 out of 13 Super Tuesday state primaries. While yes, having a powerful field organization and top-notch ground game are critical to any political campaign, these efforts are limited in their ability to truly reach voters en masse. What’s more, they mostly rely on surrogates and other supporters to present their candidate and do the persuading when people really want to hear from the candidate directly.  This is where a strong advertising campaign comes in to help, and this is what the Bloomberg campaign did so masterfully.

While Bloomberg’s opponents and the political talking heads on TV focused on his unprecedented media spend and ubiquity of advertising placements running across broadcast, digital, direct mail and social channels, it was the superb quality and strategic messaging of the advertising creative that really put him on the map. He also had customized strategies and messages that spoke directly to engage Hispanic and African American voters, critically important voting blocs that, when combined, represent roughly a quarter of all eligible voters, with even more voting power in battleground states. His advertising campaign helped him gain stronger support than most of the other candidates, even when they had been in the race since early 2019. And I underscore that his advertising campaign did this in just 13 weeks!

With that said, Bloomberg also gave us another important reminder: advertising alone can’t do the job, especially with communities of color. It was Biden that showed us the importance of building relationships over decades by winning the African American vote in South Carolina and other southern states. As a result of his ongoing commitment and track record of serving this community, the African American vote gave new life to Joe Biden’s stalling campaign and helped generate the momentum that currently has him on top in the delegate count. Similarly, Bernie showed us of the importance of building a coalition by letting voters get to know a candidate (or brand) on a more personal level. His Spanish-language ads related to Latinos through his own personal story as a son of immigrants, and he held rallies and social events that helped him be more credible on the issues of importance to them: healthcare, jobs, education and immigration reform. Ultimately, this helped Bernie win Nevada and California, and he narrowly missed beating Biden in Texas by less than 5 percentage points.

There are still many primaries to come, including states like Arizona, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina and Pennsylvania, where the African American and Latino voting blocs could put either of the candidates over the top and eventually decide the winner of the democratic primary. While there are some similarities within each voting bloc on a national level, there are also distinct differences. Let’s take Florida for example, where the Black population has a large representation of people from the West Indies and the Latino population is primarily from the Caribbean and South America. In both cases, these voters likely do not hold the same affinity for Biden and Sanders as the broader African American and Hispanic communities in states that have already had their primaries. The race is far from over, and relevant and compelling advertising targeting African Americans and Hispanics –in both English and Spanish– will be essential for ensuring deep connections are made that will win these key voting blocs. Each candidate needs to double down and do the hard work necessary to connect with voters, especially communities of color, with strategies, tactics and advertising messages that will earn their votes if they really want to be the next president of today’s New America.

About the author:  Louis Maldonado is a partner and Managing Director at d expósito & Partners, an advertising agency and integrated communications firm committed to helping clients win in today’s New America.  
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Disclaimer:  The content of this opinion piece is intended to contribute to the public discourse regarding marketing and advertising and is not a reflection of the political views or preferences of the author, the agency or its other partners.