Making Your Content Platform Agnostic with Andy Barr | Hello Merge Tag Ep. 14

“People are desperate to turn digital into television and at the same time, they are desperate to have social be the thing that saves them from the small-dollar apocalypse.”

Andy Barr is Managing Director at Uplift, an agency that provides creative, ad buying, data and software to Democratic campaigns, firms and organizations throughout the country.

Prior to founding Uplift in 2015, Andy was a political consultant, a comms director for a US senate race and a political reporter at Politico and The Hill.

Andy is hyper-focused on creative across platforms and I invited him on the pod to talk to us about the themes he’s seeing, both for his own clients and in general and so much more.

Throughout the conversation, we delved into the importance of platform agnostic content, what’s changing in the industry, how we should be thinking about audience segmentation and reach (versus how we’re currently thinking about them) and a whole lot more.

Our interview took place before the California Senate Primary, but as a Californian focused on digital advertising, Andy had an interesting perspective that he shared that is applicable to other campaigns moving forward.

He spoke at length about the importance of data, and respecting the nuance of what digital can and cannot do, and judging it accordingly.

We also talked about Scan, Uplift’s tool for tracking ad spending across Google, Meta and Snap.

Find all episodes at HelloMergeTag.com or wherever you stream podcasts.

Resources, Links and More

• andy@upliftcampaigns.com
• upliftcampaigns.com
• https://scancompetitive.digital/
• https://twitter.com/AndyBarr34
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/andy-barr-18a80a4b/
• Link to Pew Report on American social media usage – https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2024/01/31/americans-social-media-use/

Timestamps

The current trends in political digital advertising (00:00:57) Andy Barr discusses the current trends in political digital advertising, including the transition from short-form targeted content to TV-analogous platforms.

Shift in digital advertising budgets (00:02:25) Andy Barr explains the shift in ad budgets from traditional digital to new platforms like streaming, OTT, and YouTube, with a focus on the move towards TV-analogous platforms.

Challenges of fundraising ads (00:06:22) The challenges and rate of return for fundraising ads are discussed, with a focus on the effectiveness and the impact on candidate brand.

Platform agnostic content (00:14:19) Andy Barr explains the concept of creating platform-agnostic content that can work across multiple mediums and devices, such as TVs, smartphones, and desktops.

Approach to TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and IG Reels (00:18:33) The discussion touches on the absence of paid ads for political campaigns on TikTok and the approach to platforms like TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and IG Reels.

TikTok and Reels (00:18:51) Discussion on the challenges and potential of advertising on TikTok and Instagram Reels.

Platform-specific Advertising (00:19:50) Comparison of advertising experiences on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram, and the importance of platform-native content.

Organic vs. Paid Content (00:20:42) The challenges and approaches to creating organic and paid content for political campaigns.

Campaign Involvement in Content Creation (00:22:19) The importance of active communication and involvement of campaigns in content creation for effective digital advertising.

Challenges in Campaign Content Creation (00:23:55) The difficulties and experiences in creating content for political campaigns, including successes and failures.

Introduction to SCAN Tool (00:26:21) Explanation of the SCAN tool, its purpose, and the public data it provides insights into.

Democratic Digital Advertising Trends (00:32:02) Discussion on the shift in digital advertising trends in the Democratic political space, focusing on precision targeting and platform changes.

Facebook as a Persuasion Medium (00:35:18) The role of Facebook in political advertising, including fundraising and persuasion strategies.

The growth of TikTok and Instagram (00:36:45) Discussion on the increasing use of TikTok and Instagram and their impact on digital advertising.

Advertising challenges and targeting older demographics (00:37:33) The challenges of advertising on new platforms and the importance of targeting older demographics on Facebook.

Insights from a California primary election (00:38:53) Observations on the advertising strategies and gaps in reaching the target audience in a California primary election.

Traditional vs. consumer model in political campaigns (00:42:19) Exploration of the traditional and consumer models in political campaigns and the need for adjustments in advertising strategies.

Importance of early advertising in early ballot states (00:44:20) The significance of starting advertising before people start voting in early ballot states and the impact of late advertising.

Optimizing time and operations in political campaigns (00:45:44) The importance of constructive time management and operational structuring to optimize chances of winning in political campaigns.

Contact information and accessibility of digital tools (00:47:17) Information on how to contact Andy Barr and access the digital tools discussed, emphasizing accessibility and fostering conversation.