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Michael Bloomberg’s Election Advertising Strategy for 2020

Michael Bloomberg’s 2020 presidential campaign, self-funded with over $200 million spent on advertising—including more than $10 million on TV ads targeting prime time, morning news, sitcoms, and NFL games—has outspent nearly all other Democratic candidates combined, leveraging his $50 billion net worth to dominate high-cost media slots such as a $10 million Super Bowl commercial.

Bloomberg’s presidential campaign wasn’t exactly a surprise. The former mayor and current billionaire has seen speculation around his candidacy in past elections, even since his tenure as mayor of NYC.

But Bloomberg’s spending as a Democratic hopeful has certainly raised eyebrows. With a net worth over $50 billion, Bloomberg is by far the wealthiest candidate on the field. And all that money has meant he’s been able to self-fund much of his campaign ads.

MediaRadar Insight: $10 Million on TV in 2020 So Far

Already in 2020, Bloomberg spent over $10 million on TV advertising alone. The businessman-turned-mayor-turned-mogul-turned-presidential-hopeful has been buying ad space on major national networks like ABC, NBC, CBS, and more. His TV spending has been the highest for spots during morning news shows, weeknight sitcoms and NFL games.

Almost a third of all Bloomberg-focused commercial airings have come from the prime time and early morning ad slots. Because of the higher CPM costs associated with these time slots, these premium buys account for 59 percent of all TV ad spending for the Bloomberg campaign.

$200 Million on a Self-Funded Presidential Campaign

Earlier this month, ABC reported that Bloomberg’s entirely self-funded campaign had surpassed $200 million on advertising during the race.

The rest of the Democratic primary candidates have spent $250 million combined, including self-funded Tom Steyer’s $141 million.

Much of this amount comes from Bloomberg’s TV ads, including the $10 million he just dropped on a Super Bowl ad for the upcoming game. “US president Donald Trump and Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg both purchased 60 seconds of national ad time during the Feb. 2 National Football League championship game,” writes Adam Epstein at Quartz. “Fox, which will broadcast the game in the US, is reportedly asking more than $5 million per 30 seconds of ad time, putting the total ad buy at over $10 million for each politician.”

But Bloomberg’s political advertising strategy is not limited to TV. On the digital front, his campaign has also spent nearly $15 million on Google paid search alone.

Since Bloomberg has vowed to spend up to $1 billion of his own money on his presidential bid, this may just be the start.

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