Getting Political and Going Digital: Analyzing Political Digital Advertising Compliance

Consumers have long been used to seeing political ads on broadcast or cable TV, but political advertising served via streaming services or placed on a website and viewed on a computer, phone, and tablet is on the rise. Digital political advertising has increased exponentially from previous election cycles – skyrocketing from $22.5 million in 2008 to an estimated $3.4 billion in 2024 – and continues to grow, offering advertisers more targeted and streamlined messaging options as well as more granular analytics on the audience response.

In this election cycle, total political advertising spending across all platforms has reached $12.3 billion to date, including recent commitments made by billionaires and collectives to fund PACs with hundreds of millions of dollars. Reuters predicts that digital advertising will take up about 28% of total spend in the 2024 election cycle, and spending on political digital ads is up 156% from 2020.  

The demographics of political advertising viewers have also expanded in scope due to widespread social media usage. A Brennan Center study found that advertisers in this year’s election cycle spent more than $619 million towards political ads on Google and Meta media platforms alone, with at least $248 million geared towards the presidential race.

As more consumers are interfacing with digital political ads, shifting to new platforms, there is a greater need for transparency about ad sponsorship. 

Transparency allows consumers to make informed decisions, holds political advertisers and politicians accountable for their claims, and benefits the political ecosystem by encouraging consumers to engage in the political process.  

So, what kind of an impact have these ads had on the millions of eligible voters in the United States (possibly ~255+ million) in this unprecedented election year? How many were compliant with digital political advertising guidelines? 

As explained by The Drum, widespread access to personal devices and ad tech tools enables political advertisers to “serve personalized, highly relevant digital ads” to voters. Digital advertising is further enhanced by geotargeting, behavioral targeting, data collection, and data sharing, in addition to clearer performance and engagement metrics. 

Considering the substantial data collection that occurs when people use their devices, political advertisers can learn specific interests and provide messaging that speaks directly to different groups of voters.

It is easy to think about the benefits of digital advertising for elections, but where can it go wrong? 

Think of the data-driven nature of digital advertising and the potential for misinformation and voter manipulation. Also, consider how data can be used to target and influence specific groups of voters, as seen in the 2016 and 2020 election cycles. 

For example, a Pew Research Center survey found that 77% of respondents found issue with social media companies using data about their users’ online activities to show them ads from political campaigns. Moreover, 54% of respondents said that social media companies should not allow any political advertisements on their platforms. 

Lastly, many Americans lack confidence that tech companies can display political advertising on their platforms without misuse or misinformation. This underscores the importance of political advertising sponsorship disclosures. Without appropriate disclosures, voters could receive an ad without clarity on who is paying for it, who authorizes it, and what it represents. Conversely, increased transparency reduces the likelihood of misuse and misinformation. 

To work on an industry-wide solution, the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) set industry standards in 2018 through its Application of the Self-Regulatory Principles of Transparency & Accountability to Political Advertising, guiding political advertisers to provide users with transparency when ads are political advertising and disclosure regarding who paid for or authorized the ad and their contact information, and, in the case of interest-based political ads, what options consumers have about viewing or not viewing the ads.  

BBB National Programs is an accountability agent and partner to the DAA, working to monitor and improve compliance within the digital advertising marketplace. More recently, the U.S. Federal Election Commission (FEC) issued a new rule for digital advertisements in March 2023, to modernize federal disclosure requirements. Additionally, many states have specific sponsorship requirements for digital political advertisements. 

In our role as an accountability agent, we have conducted a study of political digital advertising in the 2024 election cycle. Shortly, our team will release its analysis of the trends in political digital advertising, including this election cycle, and provide recommendations, considerations, and tools to support compliance with the DAA’s political advertising guidelines.

Breaking Down Digital Political Ads Types

• Web. Web browser ad formats include native ads that blend seamlessly into content, display/banner ads, and ads that target specific queries on search engines. You typically see these ads on news outlets, political blogs, and search engines. Additionally, select search engines like Google have their own repositories of political ads. Website ads are typically used to drive potential voters to campaign websites and donation platforms. Performance metrics include impressions, click-through rates (CTRs), and time spent on landing pages, which allows advertisers to quickly tailor their messages to voter responsiveness.
• Mobile. Mobile ad formats include in-app banner and native ads and may include SMS campaigns with links to digital political ads and fundraisers. Ad campaigns may streamline web-based ads for mobile web browsers. Similar to search engines, some social media apps like Snapchat have their own political advertising repositories. Mobile ads are more specific and localized: precise geolocation data makes it easier to target users using geofencing, which may be useful for polling and rallying activities, although such practices have been met with controversy by regulators. Engagement metrics can be easier to measure via mobile advertising and may lead to more direct engagement. Mobile ads may be particularly effective for younger voters and underserved communities as these groups tend to rely more on smartphones, based on trends reported in the Pew Research Center’s mobile and broadband technology studies from 2019, 2021, and 2024.
• Connected TV (CTV). CTV combines the wide reach of traditional TV with the precision of digital advertising. Popular CTV examples include Roku and YouTube TV, and typical formats include pre-roll (prior to programming), mid-roll (in between programming similar to traditional TV commercials), or an overlay. According to a recent study from eMarketer, 234.1 million people in the U.S. use CTV at least once a month. Moreover, The Current reports that an estimated 13% of the 2024 political advertising budget was spent on CTV ads, compared to just 2.7% in 2020. CTV allows advertisers to look at household demographics and track engagement in real time, likely driving the ever-increasing spend on CTV political ads. To guide the industry, the DAA has published new guidance on CTV compliance that complements its digital advertising principles.

The varying modalities in the advertising ecosystem lead to pertinent questions. First, are consumers getting an appropriate level of disclosure and meaningful notice regarding what political ads they are viewing? Next, are consumers aware of their choices for opting out of viewing the ads?

Stakeholders in the political advertising space must be diligent in providing meaningful and prominent notice and fulsome sponsorship disclosures to consumers to ensure awareness and transparency. Those who are not as diligent will face potential enforcement actions such as civil penalties and administrative fines (the FEC has 101 active cases as of July 30, 2024). Soft law enforcement can play an important role in ensuring the industry is diligent about keeping its promises and meeting the industry codes of conduct and expectations regarding political advertising.

Stay tuned – next we will dive deeper into the legal and regulatory environment of digital political advertising and provide examples of compliance concerns that the BBB National Programs’ Digital Advertising Accountability Program (DAAP) has observed in its monitoring efforts.