And the 2023 Presidential campaign ads just keep on coming.
As part of its $25 million, 16-week series of ads aimed at swing-state voters, President Biden's reelection campaign has just launched ads specifically targeting Black and Latino voters, on Black- and Hispanic-owned radio stations.
The radio spots, which are part of a multimillion-dollar effort to reach Black and Latino voters more than a year ahead of the 2024 election, represent the earliest-ever paid investment in Black and Hispanic radio for a Democratic reelection effort, according to the Biden campaign. “Tapping into trusted messengers early with such a robust radio buy is the latest example of how we’re showing up and meeting Black and Latino voters where they are,” Julie Chavez Rodriguez, President Biden’s campaign manager, said in a statement.
The ads, which also come earlier than those during either Barack Obama's or Donald Trump's reelection campaigns, are part of Democrats' efforts to increase Black and Latino support. While Black voters are the party’s most loyal constituency, and a majority of Latino voters back Democratic candidates, the campaign has been concerned with a potential drop in turnout or gains made by Republicans.
The ads targeting Black voters will run nationally via syndicated outlets and locally on stations in Georgia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and North Carolina. Syndicated shows included in the buy include “The Breakfast Club,” “The Steve Harvey Morning Show,” and “The D.L. Hughley Show.”
“For an African American audience, radio hosts and these radio platforms are the original influencers,” Terrance Green, founder of Truxton Creative, which is overseeing the Biden campaign’s strategy and creative and media planning on Black outreach, tells the Washington Post. “This is how we drive conversation, share perspectives and organize. I’m looking at this as just the first phase of a longer conversation that we’re starting with Black voters as we head into November of 2024.”
The radio campaign also comes as a result of years of Black and Latino Democratic leaders urging Democrats to invest earlier in outreach to their communities. “This time, we have to make sure we are focused in on the very folks that will help us win in 2024,” Green says. “So, starting now is one of the most intentional acts that we can make to let African American voters know that they matter.”
The ads focus on the Biden administration's accomplishments for Black and Latino families. A 30-second spot highlights Biden's signing of a racial-equity executive order on his first day in office to increase investment in Black communities, as well as his creating jobs and capping the cost of insulin at $35 for seniors. A 60-second spot adds Biden's nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first Black woman to serve as a U.S. Supreme Court justice.
The Spanish-language radio ad notes that Republicans claim to support Latinos but work for the rich and powerful, while Biden is fighting for Latino businesses and families to get ahead. The ad points to what it says is growth in Latino small-business ownership and a decrease in Latino unemployment under the Biden administration.
Latino-focused radio spots will air on Spanish-language stations in Arizona and Nevada, and later on broadcast radio and digital audio streaming platforms in key states such as Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and North Carolina.
Noting Nielsen figures showing Spanish language-dominant audiences are in the top ranks for listenership among U.S. adults ages 18 to 49, Adrian Saenz, head of firm Conexión and leader of the Biden campaign’s strategy and creative and media planning for Latino-focused ads, said radio is critical for targeting Hispanics, given that it is a trusted platform with huge reach, and that the buy is intended to continue driving the narrative that Biden is “fighting for us, fighting for our community, fighting for Latinos.”