The biggest lesson I’ve learned from the campaigns I’ve run? Political advertising starts with a lot of preparation. Every platform—from Meta to Google to TikTok—has its own rules, verification processes, and, frankly, unexpected hurdles. What runs smoothly on one platform can leave you mired in a maze of forms and rejected ads and seemingly insurmountable obstacles on another.
The figures from this year’s
US elections speak volumes: with a record expenditure of 3.28 billion euros on country wise email marketing list advertising via digital channels, double that of previous election years. A staggering amount, you might think. Yet this is only a fraction of the total media budget. More than 70% of expenditure went to traditional channels such as print, radio and especially television.
Closer to home, too, the division between traditional and digital media seems website taxonomy-best practices for maximum seo impact disproportionate. Although exact figures for Belgium and the Netherlands are difficult to obtain – despite rules that this must be completely transparent – practice shows that offline media channels still dominate in political campaigns. Digital channels are gaining ground, but for the time being they remain a supplement, not a replacement.
A striking detail: the parties that spent the least on online media in the Netherlands in 2023, the PVV and NSC, convincingly won the elections. It shows that success does not depend solely on digital campaigns, but that traditional channels and direct connections lack data voters are still powerful. And a program that meets the needs of the voter, of course.
Yet the trend is unmistakable
Online advertising is taking up an ever-increasing share of budgets, largely due to its precision and scalability. But as long as TV and print offer the breadth and credibility that political parties seek, digital will remain an emerging player – not yet the leader in the game.