LTO Links #299

Coordinating In Plain Sight On Websites

Learn. Test. Optimize.

Issue #299 |

Advertising

Facebook promised to remove “sensitive” ads. Here’s what it left behind.

"Facebook removed “Fox News Channel” as a targeting option that could reach conservative users, but we saw the conservative satire website The Babylon Bee targeting an ad ridiculing Anthony Fauci using the then-still-available interest category “Judge Jeanine Piro,” a Fox News personality."

Programmatic Vendors Step Up Efforts to Win Campaign Dollars

"Now, it’s not just the targeting restrictions that are making down-ballot campaigns second guess their relationships with platforms like Facebook. Cost is another factor. Digital consultants working with down-ballot campaigns have told C&E for months that they’ve faced higher prices than ever for the ads they’re placing on Meta’s platforms and that’s when they’re getting approvals on those spots."

The Democrats’ brand advertising is broken. Can Hooligans fix it?

"Lim and Fitzgerald are advocating for an approach that’s been familiar to major brand marketers for more than a decade: Spread ad spend across audiences and platforms and create work bespoke to the viewer—where they’re consuming it. All the while fostering an agility that allows campaigns to respond quickly and creatively to events, and try to tap into culture."

Campaigns

The Little Red Boxes Making a Mockery of Campaign Finance Laws

"To work around the prohibition on directly coordinating with super PACs, candidates are posting their instructions to them inside the red boxes on public pages that super PACs continuously monitor."

Short Code Texting Versus Peer-to-Peer Texting – Why Campaigns Need Both

"Costs for sending P2P messages vary widely depending on the platform, but as a general rule Short Code texting is cheaper per message. Your campaign will need to pay a monthly fee for the six digit number you use and the SMS marketing software."

Design

This candidate had a Fox News-inspired logo… until he didn’t

"Pharmacy owner Tim Short’s campaign logo mimics Fox News’ logo, with searchlight marks, his name right-aligned and in all caps, and “Georgia House” written where “Channel” would be."

Email

Potential 2024 Republican Presidential Candidates’ Email Programs

"Our most prolific sender on the list, Nikki Haley’s Stand for America PAC, sent twice the number of weekly emails as the #2 sender, Rand Paul. Not only that, her group used three times more unique sender names than any other candidate we watched."

Social Media

Social Media Platforms and Voting: Do Registration Efforts Actually Work?

"Say you want to run for state representative in your legislature — the tool can help you; in fact, it can tell you, “One of these positions in your area was uncontested last cycle.” It pulls up the position in your district, the filing deadline, the primary election date and the general election date, as well as the office’s requirements."

Facebook Killed News Feed Fix for Fear of Conservative Backlash: Docs

"A slew of right-wing pages had been flagged by Facebook’s algorithmic moderation system for habitually spreading falsehoods, they said. Afraid of upsetting conservatives, however, Facebook had shelved the update, and many decisions around the election were “caught up in that,” the source said."