Saturday, December 22, 2012

"Campaign malpractice"

The Washington**** confirms more of what is becoming obvious to everyone: The Romney campaign was repeatedly outclassed and beaten to the punch on media buys. The  **** reports:

"Senior Republican campaign operatives who gathered over beer last week in Alexandria for a post-election briefing were taken aback by what they were told. A nonpartisan research firm presented data showing that President Obama had far outperformed Mitt Romney in managing the largest single expenditure of the campaign: television advertising.

Romney’s spending decisions on advertising look like “campaign malpractice,” said one person who had reviewed the newly circulated data.

Obama and his allies spent less on advertising than Romney and his allies but got far more — in the number of ads broadcast, in visibility in key markets and in targeting critical demographic groups, such as the working class and younger voters in swing states. As the presidential race entered its final, furious phase, for example, millions of college football fans tuning in to televised games saw repeated ads for Obama but relatively few from the Romney campaign.

All told, from June through Election Day, the Obama campaign and its allies aired about 50,000 more ads than Romney and his allies, according to the research firm’s data.

“The Obama guys put more lead on the target and were buying their bullets cheaper,” said an attendee at the briefing, Will Feltus, a senior vice president at National Media, the firm that represented Romney in 2008 and President George W. Bush in his 2004 reelection effort....

Interviews with Obama campaign officials as well as independent analysts show that the Obama team, in carrying out its ad strategy, took advantage of discount rates and used sophisticated buying techniques and precision targeting to make the most-effective buys.

Romney not only paid more for his ads but also missed crucial opportunities to advertise, for instance during the political conventions and on Spanish-language television, according to the campaign officials and analysts. Spending by super PACs — such as Restore Our Future, set up by former Romney campaign officials — compensated for some of the advertising shortfall, but even with those expenditures the Obama campaign had a clear advantage.

“Obama’s quality and quality control beat out quantity of dollars spent” by Romney, said Elizabeth Wilner of the Campaign Media Analysis Group, a nonpartisan organization that monitors ad spending....

Romney campaign officials dismiss the criticism, saying they managed well, watched spending closely and pursued an independent advertising strategy intended to save on overhead and commissions....

We had in place a process to be sure that the dollars we were spending per demographic group and per voter were attractive,” said Darrell Crate, Romney’s campaign treasurer. “We were careful and deliberate and used a whole set of metrics so that we knew exactly what we were buying and would pay only what was fair and reasonable.” He said the effort was similar to the Obama campaign’s.

Democrats and some Republican operatives say a different story emerged from comparative advertising data assembled by the Campaign Media Analysis Group, a division of Kantar Media. The organization provided data to both political parties and the media, including The Washington ****.

Presentations made by the group’s president, Ken Goldstein, show that Obama outpaced Romney in several advertising categories, including many considered critical to winning in swing states. For instance, Romney ads were far less visible on Spanish-language television. The organization said Obama ran 13,232 spots on Spanish-language TV stations, compared with 3,435 for Romney.

Also, between Oct. 22 and 29, Obama and his main campaign ally, the Priorities USA Action super PAC, aired more commercials in most of the top media markets despite being outspent by the Romney campaign and its main ally, the Restore Our Future super PAC, by about 30 percent.

Four years ago, Romney and Obama both relied on outside, independent media consulting firms to place and produce television ads, the biggest single cost of any national campaign. In the 2012 election cycle, however, Romney changed the organizational chart. To purchase ads and other services, his campaign set up American Rambler, a closely held business entity named for the iconic car produced decades ago by American Motors, the firm led by the candidate’s father. American Rambler contracted for major expenditures, sometimes picking top campaign officials or their firms as contractors.

For example, Rambler provided compensation to Romney advisers Eric Fehrnstrom, Beth Myers, Stuart Stevens and Russell Schriefer, campaign officials have said. One top vendor to the campaign, Targeted Victory, was co-founded by Romney digital director Zac Moffatt. It received $64 million for online advertising services, federal election records show. The firm has had a contract with the campaign since 2009.

“Unfortunately, the Romney campaign ended up having to pay more money than they would have if they had used an outside agency,” Feltus said. His agency had the contract with Romney in 2008.

Crate, the Romney campaign treasurer, rejects the criticism of how the Romney effort structured its advertising effort. “The folks that were providing services were chosen for their expertise and competence. Contracts were negotiated in ways that were fair and reasonable.” The campaign took special care to review spending, he said. “Operational controls were in place over all spending,” Crate said....
Rest of article

22 comments:

White Horse foundered said...

The friends and family plan meets vulture capitalism. With a side of MORmON.

How does Rambler Shambles differ from "An angry aide characterized the shopping spree as "Wasilla hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast," and said the truth will eventually come out when the Republican Party audits its books ?

Highlight Jeff Larson in this story about the 2008 campaign: Sarah Palin’s Personal Shopper Meet the Republican Party's fashion guru .

Then highlight Jeff Larson in this Erick Larson post at RedState about the 2012 campaign: The Incestuous Bleeding of the Republican Party

ShadowPipe said...

Excellent weed, huh, 2:45?

Anonymous said...

Well, with a Mississippian like Stu Stevens at the helm of the Romney campaign in Boston, aided by another Mississippian, Austin Barbour, what did anyone expect, great competence?

Anonymous said...

From the "It wasn't our message" department, please find a proffered scapegoat. False comfort for redmeat Republicans.

Shadowidiot said...

We, the party of idiots, still can't accept the fact that 20% are far left, 20% far right. He (or she) that captures 51% of the 60% middle WINS every time. DUH.

Too many of "üs" believe that GOD told me, I am RIGHT, and to hell with you that disagree.

Like the silliness of "personhood", assault weapons, abortion nuts, gun nuts, immigration nuts, nonsense on the compromise re fiscal cliff, on and on. Keep pissing off half the country and keep losing.

NO YOU SCREAM!!! GOD TOLD ME!

Anonymous said...

GOD TOLD ME!

More like MY GOD COMMANDED ME TO COMMAND YOU TO START DOING IT (sex,drugs,booze,schools) LIKE MY VERSION OF THE BIBLE SAYS.

Anonymous said...

I love all the passages that are no longer quoted from the Bible.
One preacher was confronted recently with the one about it being easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to go to Heaven. He replied that one shouldn't be rich when they die but they can be as rich as they want until then.
I'm still laughing though he seemed perfectly serious!

Anonymous said...

The story behind Mitt Romney’s loss in the presidential campaign to President Obama

“He wanted to be president less than anyone I’ve met in my life. He had no desire to . . . run,” said Tagg, who worked with his mother, Ann, to persuade his father to seek the presidency. “If he could have found someone else to take his place . . . he would have been ecstatic to step aside. He is a very private person who loves his family deeply and wants to be with them, but he has deep faith in God and he loves his country, but he doesn’t love the attention.”

Memo to Tagg: He did find someone else to take his place as POTUS. Due to his BUNGLED CLUSTERF@CK of a campaign, Barack Obama was reelected. You and you family obviously shoulder some of the blame, if your account is believed.

Shadowidiot said...

Thanks 10:52. You have proven my point perfectly. Almost like a set up. I will pray for you and your mother.

Anonymous said...

MEMO TO: JFP Waste-Your-Time-Terms

Donna Ladd and Brad Franklin can't even get someone elected Jackson Dog Catcher.

Anonymous said...

The Republican Party is dead, Dead, DEAD. Thank the right wing nuts like Rush, Sean, Laura, Anne, Kim Wade, Larry Nesbit who have painted them into a herd the cats mentality with no leadership that can survive the right wing onslaught should ANY attempt at statesmanship be attempted. A bunch of kooks that can't agree to compromise on ANYTHING. Actually funny as hell and will get funnier

LTAO said...

Shadowidiot RULES. Also anon at 6:31. These bombastic ass clowns preaching to the world have killed our party. Collective loudmouth my way or the highway total stupid bullshit. Some of our idiot conservatives did not vote for Romney "because he was in a cult". Can you believe how stupid STUPID we are? DEMS ARE LTAO at us and will for a while.

Anonymous said...

6:29 WTF are you talking about?

Anonymous said...

Collective loudmouth my way or the highway total stupid bullshit.

Right! No doubt we should all convert over to all-debt all-the-time local politics of LOSER RINOs like Ben and Matt Allen.

Shadowidiot said...

8:10. A non come back. WTF are YOU talking about? Folks we are losing it. Where IS Thad when we need him. Trent. SOMEPHUCKINGBODY. Clock meet cleaned.

Anonymous said...

8:27 what is your answer/solution. Specifics please.

Shadowidiot said...

Tomorrow.

KaptKangaroo said...

Maddowfax...

ooops...


shMADDOWfacts... someone is caulking my gutters.

Curt Crowley said...

AGNTSA

It doesn't matter how the money was spent. Obamney lost because he sucked. He wasn't an alternative to Obama. He might as well had been Obama from a policy standpoint.

Obamney brought no energy, no excitement, no fresh ideas. The party machine boxed itself into being stuck with Obamney because, with the exception of Ron Paul, there were no candidates of any substance in the primary. Just a bunch of refried Moral Majority clowns trying to out-dumb each other.

bill said...

There are lots of reasons Romney lost. One of them may very well have been poor TV ad buying, but there were plenty of other challenges. In my 60 years on this planet, exactly two Presidents have served only one full four year term. It's not an easy task to unseat an incumbent President, even when he's not very good. The debate over why Romney lost will rage on, but even a perfectly run campaign would still have had to overcome the advantages of incumbency to win.

Shadowidiot said...

We lost because, as 11:09 mentioned, we have a party of Moral Majority ass clowns that cram their "mission from God" down everybody's throats. We better get use to losing as long as our "voice" is 9 differing Sunday school teachers that all have their own bee in their bonnet.

Anonymous said...

Who cares why Romney lost. One should be more concerned with the fact that we have Congresscritters who serve half their lives and a popularity contest to determine who's leader of the most powerful nation on earth.

It would be cool if candidates were forced to run on principle and not principal



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