The prognostications about 2024 record political advertising are coming to fruition through the first four months of the year, at least with OOH spend. In comparing January – April 2024 to the previous ten years (2014 – 2024), OOH political ad spend is at an all-time high $5.9 million dollars. This early 2024 trend should inspire high enthusiasm for the OOH industry, since over the past decade about 80% of OOH political spend has been placed between May – December.
The political spend categories that are fueling the greatest growth are US House and Senate races, and the YTD spend for these campaigns is 4.5 times greater than the next highest year (2020) over the past decade. The chart below illustrates how the first four months of 2024 compare to the same time periods since 2014.
OAAA members in every state have significant opportunity to leverage the growing political category and the OAAA OOH Political Ad Primer will help inform and direct your strategy.
Here’s a topline review of the biggest political opportunities across national and statewide contests, and ballot initiatives. Remember that about 90% of OOH political spend is historically generated by local and state campaigns, which means there is member opportunity in every state and jurisdiction.
Presidential
- Key Battleground states: AZ, GA, MI, NV, PA, WI
US Senate
- MT and OH are toss ups
- There could be close races in AZ, NV, MI, PA and WI
US House
- 86 seats are competitive with 25 rated as true toss ups
- The 25 states with the most competitive seats: AK, AL, AZ, CA, CO, CT, IA, IL, IN. LA, ME, MI, MN, MT, NC, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OH, OR, PA, VA, WA.
Governors
- NC and NH rated toss ups
- WA could be competitive
Statewide Amendment Initiatives
- As result of Supreme Court Dobbs decision, reproductive rights now up to each state.
- States where the issue will be on the ballot: CO, FL, MD, SD.
- States where ballot efforts are underway: AZ, AR, MO, MT, NE, NV
Ballot Measures
- As of late June, 127 statewide ballot measures have been certified in 36 states.
Another beneficial OAAA OOH political resource is the recent Morning Consult The Influence of Out of Home Political Ads study which found:
68% of likely voters have seen OOH political advertising
56% of likely voters who have seen OOH political ads in the past year trust them to be truthful and accurate
49% of likely voters who have seen OOH political ads in the past year say the ads are personally influential, including 20% who rate them very influential
OOH political advertising over indexes with many of today’s most important voting blocs – both younger and multicultural audiences, along with highly educated and higher income households – a clear reason why political advertising spend in OOH has dramatically increased over the past decade.
Source: Vivvix, Morning Consult