Is he losing steam?
Vivek Ramaswamy’s presidential campaign has recently made a significant shift in its advertising strategy. The campaign, which previously allocated over $200,000 to TV ads in early December, drastically reduced TV ad spending to just $6,000 last week. However, this apparent reduction doesn’t mean a cessation of advertising efforts. Instead, the campaign has refocused its strategy towards targeted approaches like addressable advertising, mail, text messages, live calls, and door-to-door canvassing to engage with their identified voter base and convey Ramaswamy’s vision for America.
This pivot away from traditional TV ads towards more personalized and direct forms of communication underscores the campaign’s intention to be more agile and hyper-targeted in their outreach. Tricia McLaughlin, the campaign’s press secretary, emphasized this shift, highlighting that while they’ve scaled back on TV spending, they remain committed to reaching their audience through alternative means.
This strategic change comes just ahead of critical events in the GOP presidential race, notably the Iowa caucuses on January 15 and the New Hampshire primary on January 23. Originally planning to allocate over $10 million across various media platforms in these states, the campaign has redirected $2.2 million towards TV, digital, and radio ads based on AdImpact data.
Interestingly, while Ramaswamy’s campaign has reduced TV ad spending, significant rivals such as former President Donald Trump, Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis, and Chris Christie continue to heavily invest in TV ads. Trump’s campaign led the spending with $1.1 million, followed by Haley’s $1 million, DeSantis’ $270,000, and Christie’s $88,000 during the same week Ramaswamy spent merely $6,000.
Moreover, super PACs supporting Ramaswamy’s rivals have been actively funding ad campaigns. For instance, SFA Fund Inc., supporting Haley, allocated $4.8 million, while Fight Right, backing DeSantis, spent $1.3 million. These substantial investments by rival PACs indicate a competitive landscape in advertising leading up to the primaries.
Notably, American Exceptionalism PAC, supporting Ramaswamy, has refrained from ad spending since October, signaling a divergence from the aggressive spending strategies employed by the campaigns and PACs supporting his competitors. This divergence hints at a potentially distinctive approach to engaging voters and conveying Ramaswamy’s platform compared to his rivals.
