Insights gleaned from online advertising spending shed light on the strategic priorities of political parties during the initial phase of the Lok Sabha elections.
During the campaigning period for the first phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, political parties invested a substantial sum of at least Rs 36.5 crore in promoting their electoral agenda, policies, manifestos, and achievements through online advertising platforms.
An analysis of expenditure on Google and Meta platforms indicates that the Congress narrowed the gap with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in terms of online ad spending, despite a slow start. Notably, X (formerly Twitter) does not permit political advertisements in India.
While the BJP retained its lead with an expenditure of Rs 14.7 crore, Congress and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) closely followed with Rs 12.3 crore and Rs 12.1 crore, respectively, between March 15 and April 13. This analysis is based on data from the Google Ads Transparency Centre and the Meta Ad Library Report.
The majority of the ad expenditure was channeled through Google, with over 81% of the BJP's digital ad spending allocated to Google Adsense and YouTube. Similarly, Congress dedicated 78% of its online ad expenditure to Google platforms.
Beyond the national parties, regional players like Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy's YSR Congress and Trinamool Congress (TMC) also featured prominently in online ad spending, along with Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and Telugu Desam Party (TDP).
Interestingly, the top five meme pages categorized as "political advertisers" by Meta outspent some regional parties combined.
Tamil Nadu emerged as a focal point for political spending, with the highest amount directed towards the state. Out of the total political ads, Rs 17.1 crore targeted Tamil Nadu specifically. BJP and DMK led the spending in this region, with Congress lagging behind.
YouTube emerged as the preferred platform for political advertising, with the BJP allocating a significant portion of its budget to the video streaming platform. Themes of infrastructure development, welfare schemes, youth empowerment, and contentious issues like the abrogation of Article 370 are featured prominently in BJP's ads. Conversely, Congress focused on highlighting the failures of the Modi government and issues such as unemployment and farmer distress.
DMK's campaign centered around protecting constitutional values, promoting Chief Minister MK Stalin's policies, and advocating for the "Dravidian Model."
The data also underscores the growing trend of outsourcing in politics, with many parties relying on professional agencies for effective ad targeting. Notably, DMK exclusively collaborated with Populus Empowerment Network Pvt Ltd for online ad placement, while parties like TMC and YSR Congress enlisted the services of the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC), founded by Prashant Kishor.
