Election Briefing: The Final Push: Where are Campaign Dollars Best Spent Late in the Cycle?

With less than three weeks until Election Day, the cash arriving in campaign accounts now buys a different market than it did in September and two veteran strategists say the most common mistake is pretending otherwise.

In the final C&E Election Briefing of the cycle, a conversation with Shannon Chatlos, partner at the Republican media firm Strategic Partners and Media, and Bill Redding, founder of the progressive buying agency WKQ Media, focused on how to spend late money the right way.

One of Redding’s warnings was on inventory: “The biggest mistake is treating late money like early money,” he said. “You have to look at what actually exists right now.”

The best approach is preparation, Redding said, and building the direct relationships with premium channels early so late dollars have somewhere to land.

The biggest mistake Chatlos sees in the final stretch is dilution. “I see people spreading it too thin,” she said. “If you’re only getting a couple of impressions per target in the last weeks because you’re spread all over the place, then that’s dangerous.”

Her rule is to saturate before expanding: hit a frequency target on CTV, then widen the audience or move to the next platform. Watch the full briefing above for their take on late buys on live sports, radio, and digital out-of-home.