As polling dates approach, political ad spends on digital sees an all time high. Both Google and Meta witnessed a sharp spike in spends. According to the latest Google Ads Transparency Report spanning from January 1 to March 19 1014, spends on political advertising have touched Rs 101.28 crore. The report showed a total of 21,212 political ads in the period with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerging as the leading spender, with spends to the tune of Rs 31.1 crore.
Following closely behind, the Central Bureau of Communication (formerly known as DAVP- Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity) was the second highest spender with spends amounting to Rs 30.6 crore. Meanwhile, the Indian Political Action Committee (IPAC) invested Rs 5.5 crore, while the Indian National Congress trailed with an expenditure of Rs 0.247 crore.
Breaking down the expenditures by states, Uttar Pradesh (UP) emerged as the frontrunner in spending on Google Ads, with a total expenditure of Rs 11.8 crore. Odisha that would be holding its state elections alongside the general elections followed with Rs 8.62 crore. Maharashtra secured the third position with spends to the tune of Rs 7.44 crore.
In addition to Google Ads, the Meta Ad Library also shed light on the political advertising landscape. Over the past 90 days, the BJP which is also the highest spender on Meta has spent Rs 6.06 crore across 1198 ads focusing on social issues, elections, or political campaigns. Affiliate pages such as ‘Phir Ekbar Modi Sarkar’ have also been high spenders. Between December 17, 2023, and March 15, 2024, they spent Rs 1.9 crore on 2570 ads.
On Meta though, Odisha is the highest spender with a total spend of Rs3.79 crore followed by Uttar Pradesh at Rs3.71 crore.
The present election while proving to be more costly than past ones is also undergoing other changes. Especially when it comes to marketing strategy. While digital spends are the taking the lead, the ruling party is also focussing on something that experts are calling ‘FOMO marketing’.
“In the 2014 election, the ruling party engaged in a vigorous social media battle. Subsequently, their approach evolved to prioritise inclusivity. Now, in their third campaign, they’ve adopted a FOMO Marketing strategy, where the fear of missing out drives participation in major events,” said Anup Sharma, an independent communications consultant told Storyboard18.
Sharma has been involved in the political campaign planning for more than a decade and currently working closely with few senior political leaders on key messaging and outreach strategy.