Unless you’ve been living under a rock (which doesn’t always seem like such a bad idea), you’ve undoubtedly noticed the emergence and rapid uptick of conservative media voices. From Ben Shapiro to Jordan B Peterson and Tucker Carlson, these news and information sources are too big to ignore.
With cumulative audience sizes in the tens of millions, and the pro capitalism, “Freedom Economy” banner waving beliefs of the hosts themselves; these Conservative “talking heads” have niched out far more than a platform to spread their thoughts and ideas. They’ve become powerful influencers and advertising channels in their own right.
Who is advertising on Conservative Media?
The answer may surprise you. If you assume that all advertisers who choose Conservative, Libertarian or otherwise “non woke” channels are Conservatives themselves- you’d be dead wrong. Companies like Bambee HR, Policygenius, Zip Recruiter, Netsuite, Stamps.com & Shopify have and will likely continue to spend millions reaching Conservative audiences on Conservative media outlets in 2024 and beyond. Of course, there are advertisers who go to market as Conservative brands who leverage this obvious advertising choice, but the presence of mainstream or politically neutral brands who allocate ad spend to these channels is what has been surprising to dissenters and marketers alike.
Which brings me to the crux of this topic.
Why are B2B brands taking notice, allocating budget and sticking with Conservative Media?
At a glance, it could seem like a sheer “numbers play”. Ben Shapiro carries a YouTube subscriber list of almost 7Mil, and Jordan B Peterson is sitting at almost 8Mil. Tucker Carlson’s new show and YouTube channel just launched in early 2024 and is already at almost 2Mil, and the FoxNews channel on SiriusXM has more listeners than all of those.
The healthy audience size of these advertising options certainly doesn’t hurt- but it’s definitely not the only reason brands are leaning in.
- Deep Reach. Most of the ad options on the shows I’ve mentioned in this article are in the form of “Sponsored Reads” or “Host Read Spots”- meaning, the host themselves are reading the ad copy and riffing on that ad copy. Because their audience is aligned on some (or all) of the deepest issues that make a human “tick”, the words of the listeners favorite host carries a LOT of weight. This means higher conversion rates (a huge bonus for brand awareness efforts), deeper brand loyalty and a sense of true alignment with the brand- even if the brand isn’t going to market as Conservative. One might imagine a listener thinking ‘this brand believes in supporting what I believe in, and I like that’.
- Exclusivity. On the “Host Read Spots” and “Sponsored Reads” in all of the above mentioned Conservative Media shows, exclusivity is offered to their advertisers. Meaning, if you’re Shopify, you can trust that there won’t also be a WordPress or other competitor spot airing as long as you’re advertising. *Note: most Liberal or politically neutral hosts offer exclusivity as well.
- B2B. I’ve saved the best for last. B2B brands, whether they are outspokenly conservative or Switzerland (neutral) are choosing these media options because of the audience make-up. Studies show that as much as 85% of C-Level Executives and business owners in the U.S. identify as Conservative. In a CNN article from 2019, 18.6% of CEO’s consistently donated to Democrats and 57.5% consistently donated to Republicans. Which means, there’s a very high concentration of B2B decision makers tuning in to these hosts and shows, and if you’re a B2B brand with a high ticket sale and a healthy ad budget, that audience size starts to look real, real attractive.
What’s the cost?
Ok, so maybe I’ve piqued your interest, or curiosity at the very least. Your next logical question is, “how much is it?” For the Host Read Spots and Sponsored Reads, you’re looking at $20- $30 CPM’s- about the same as a Spotify, Pandora or a hyper-targeted digital campaign, and $1-$4 CPM’s with SiriusXM’s FoxNews, Patriot & Triumph using your own produced spots. The minimums range from 20-40k/mo depending on your channel choices.
Caveats and Disclaimers
As with any brand awareness effort, frequency and duration are key. You would no sooner want a billboard on the highway for only a week as you’d want a Sponsorship spot on one of these Conservative channels. Frequency over time builds trust, familiarity and the ever-important brand association that you’re going for. A side benefit of longevity as an advertiser is, as the host reads your spot and learns more about your brand, they will often “riff” and become interested in your product or services beyond just the ad copy in front of them. This creates a true endorsement and “vote of approval” with ads that become more rich and authentic over time.
Want to learn more?
If you’re interested in advertising in the Conservative Media space, reach out to me, Heather at The Marketing Agent. I’ll be happy to talk with you about the options and curate the best plan for your brand to make your mark in this growing space!