Race to the Finish: How the Harris and Trump Presidential campaigns are “Spending” their final week

Channel Strategy

Comparing WoW US ad spend by channel, between October 15th - 21st, and Oct. 22nd - 28th, The Harris campaign shifted significant budget to Instagram (+10 bps) and Facebook (+4 bps) and added Desktop Display into their channel mix with a 4% investment, while cutting back on YouTube (-10 bps).

In contrast, the Trump campaign made much larger changes WoW, increasing YouTube (+11 bps) Facebook spend +12 bps, Instagram (+7 bps), and (X +3 bps), and slashed OTT spend by -25 bps. 

The reallocation is interesting, considering for the week of the 22nd - 28th Harris’ Instagram and Facebook spend earned almost equivalent impression share with 31% and 32%, respectively. However, Youtube offered a disproportionate spend to impressions ratio, gaining 23% of impressions, from 15% spend in the channel.

The Trump campaign may have been paying more attention to the data, with increased spend on X netting them a 21% impressions share, and +8% volume for YouTube.

Into the Swing of Things

It’s no surprise that both campaigns would target swing states so close to the election. But Sensor Tower data does offer a glimpse into where the campaigns themselves might see weaknesses in polling, or an opportunity to pull support away from their opponent. 

With the launch of our newest geographic breakdown for Desktop Display and Desktop Video channels, in addition to Facebook and Instagram, we analyzed spend allocation by metro area, to see where the candidates focused spend in their last week.  

While both campaigns topped ad spend across multiple regions in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Georgia, the Trump campaign deviated from its opponent with higher spend allocation in North Carolina. 

The Harris campaign, however, shifted ad dollars to Las Vegas, the most highly populated city in Nevada, as well as ad spend in Boston.

Follow the Data

With a virtual deadlock between the candidates, and oftentimes unreliable polling, the data for digital advertising spend offers a broad picture of how the campaigns are trying to reach voters before the ballot boxes close. 

If you’d like to read more digital insights about the full election cycle, including how the candidates utilized ad spend and messaging during some of the most historic events of any Presidential race, read our Digital Advertising Report: The US Presidential Election 2024.