Advertising Age has just released details of Barack Obama's cross-channel media buy on the Olympics.
From the online article
It's official. Barack Obama's campaign will be among the TV sponsors of NBC Universal's Olympics coverage. In the first significant network-TV buy of any presidential candidate in at least 16 years, the Obama campaign has taken a $5 million package of Olympics spots that includes network TV as well as cable ads.
According to NBC's political file, the campaign had initially requested information about 500,000, $2 million and $4 million package of Olympics spots. The network also offered the candidate a $10 million package.
NBC Universal is airing 3,600 hours of Olympics coverage on its broadcast network and cable networks including NBC, CNBC, MSNBC, USA Network, Oxygen and Telemundo, and while some of the Obama campaign's spots will air on network TV, the breakdown of how many or exactly when they will air was not immediately available.
Five million is a serious commitment, even for the Olympics. Different events target different audiences, giving the Obama marketing machine an opportunity to slot different spots and messages into the Olympic event coverage. One faithful Olympic demographic: Women 65+. So Obama isn't about to concede that piece of the electorate.
I'll work on a more detailed analysis of the ad buy as more information becomes available. Until then, this drive-by diary will have to do!