Worth Knowing About

Cool Digital Ideas

A running list of ad formats and platform features that are actually relevant to political campaigns, not case studies of specific races, just things worth knowing exist.

Interactive CTV Ads: Ads on streaming TV that let a viewer use their remote to request more info, find a polling location, or save something for later, without leaving the show they're watching. Useful for GOTV (get-out-the-vote) messaging specifically.

Vertical Short-Form Video: Video shot and edited specifically for phone screens, built for quick candidate or issue messaging rather than a long ad. Common on Instagram Reels and Stories, not TikTok, given its political ad ban.

Audio Ads on Streaming & Podcasts: Ads that run between songs or podcast episodes. Podcast audiences in particular tend to skew highly engaged, and political audio spots are common during election cycles.

Geofenced Event & Rally Ads: Using geofencing to reach people who were physically present at a rally, town hall, or polling location afterward. This is a very direct way to follow up on real-world attendance with digital messaging. Confirm targeting-restriction rules for your platform and ad type before assuming this is available (see the Social and Search pages).

Local News Site & CTV Targeting: Buying display or CTV inventory specifically on local news properties in a district or media market. This is great for reaching an engaged local audience without needing hyper-precise individual targeting.

Dynamic Creative Optimization (DCO): Technology that automatically assembles different versions of an ad (swapping imagery or copy) rather than one static version for everyone. Worth checking platform-specific rules before relying on this for political ads, since some of the underlying automation (like audience-based delivery decisions) is restricted in this category.