http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2014/03/16/first-on-cnn-rnc-makes-play-for-unhappy-obama-voters-in-new-ad-buy/First on CNN: RNC makes play for unhappy Obama voters in new ad buy
CNN's Jason Seher
Washington (CNN) - The messages are all GOP meat and potatoes: smaller government, less regulation on industry, school choice, entitlement reform, and sparking job creation.
But the messengers aren't who you might expect from the Republican Party.
What the Republican National Committee says is a new 14-state, six-figure ad buy and sweeping digital effort attempts to give new and diverse voices to some tried-and-true Republican policies. The "Why I'm A Republican" campaign, built around the tagline "Create Your American Dream," features African-American, Asian-American, Hispanic and young voters, critical demographics that President Barack Obama won by wide margins on his way to re-election in 2012.
Like the untraditional messengers, where the ads run will also reflect an evolving strategy at the RNC. The project not only checks all the usual boxes - earmarking money to purchase TV time in 14 target Senate states - but also looks to grab the attention of those whose channel-browsing habits don't include the major networks or some who don't even use a television.
The ads will begin airing Tuesday on cable channels targeting mostly women: Bravo, Food, E!, Hall, HGTV, Life, LMN, Oxygen, OWN, TLC and We. The Obama campaign used a similar strategy to great effect in 2012, eschewing the major networks in favor of cable stables like ESPN, where they felt their messaging could find a more receptive audience.
In addition to using cable, the RNC hopes to capture younger eyeballs with spots on Hulu, and pre-roll ads on DramaFever.com, plus the 14 Senate states, New York, and Washington, D.C. The campaign will also include Facebook and Google ads, a national ad buy on TVOne during "Roland Martin Reports," and a Spanish-language ad set to run on Telemundo in Denver, Albuquerque, Washington, D.C., and New Orleans.
The first of the series of 30-second spots was viewed Sunday morning on CNN's "State of the Union."
Watch the first ad in the "Create Your American Dream" campaign:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoeKUAIf9VgWith November's midterm elections still months away, the March investment in television and digital space by the RNC is an early marker of what will be a key part of the 2014 GOP electoral strategy: swaying disaffected Obama voters to their side.
In touting the launch of the new campaign, the RNC stressed that these messages are coming from real Americans and that the ads were tested with focus groups of swing voters in Ohio and New Mexico, something the committee hopes catches the attention of outside groups with stakes in elections across the country.
While Moody's predicts political ad revenues for local market TV stations will dip when compared with 2012, broadcasters across the country are still expected to rake in about $2.6 billion from political groups and campaigns. Outside groups like Americans for Prosperity, Club for Growth, Crossroads GPS, Senate Conservatives Action and Congressional Leadership Fund have already made heavy investments in the 2014 cycle, and the emphasis on the focus-group-approved messaging by the RNC is meant to signal to these and other players what template to follow in their own future ad buys.
"The best way to connect with voters is for them to hear from their friends and neighbors about the issues that are important to them, including job creation, school choice and opportunity," RNC Chairman Reince Priebus said about the new project.
"This ad campaign will highlight why so many millions of Americans vote Republican," Priebus added. "It's because we fight to empower people. It's because we believe in the value of every person. It's because we know that each American should have the chance to create their own American Dream."
