Political Ads Go Everywhere?

Political ads in the 2008 election cycle totalled over $1B, but the 2012 election cycle is poised to dwarf that. TV is going to capture the lion's share of ad spending, much to the annoyance of all viewers, but digital spending is going to make up a substantial portion. Estimates for this cycle's spending range from $2.5B to $3.2B with 5-10% of that spent on digital ads, making political advertising a large customer this year. In 2008, Google was the big winner, but their dominance may well slip this year with large spends on Facebook and on the new Twitter advertising platform.

A bigger difference might be where you experience your digital advertising. Obama broke through with texting ads during the '08 campaign, but this year political ads delivered through mobile devices will gain traction. The ability to geo-target mobile ads, particularly around large events is growing in popularity with politicians. This will give them the ability to target primaries and caucuses right through the time they head to the polls on Election Day.

http://adage.com/article/campaign-trail/ad-barrage-2012-race/230588/
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1111/69239.html
http://www.law.yale.edu/documents/pdf/ISP/Kate_Kaye.pdf