How Much Polish Political Parties Spent on Google Ads in the 2023 Parliamentary Elections - Summary
Elections are not only a contest of ideas and platforms, but also a competition of resources. In the information age, where advertising is crucial in reaching voters, how parties finance their campaigns can play a fundamental role in their ultimate success. Election campaign expenditures often serve as an important indicator of a party's resources, commitment, and strategy. But does more money always translate into better results? Is ad intensity just as important as quality? In the article below, we take a closer look at the financial aspect of the recent elections by analyzing the spending of individual electoral committees. Enjoy the read!
Political Advertising on Google
In the Google political ads tool category, we see the largest advertisers. Entities whose goal was to promote referendum participation and specific voting choices within it draw particular attention (marked in red on the chart above). The referendum campaign of these entities totaled 1,400,500 PLN - an amount nearly identical to the spending of 3 committees combined: the Left, Confederation, and Third Way. Only the KO and PiS committees spent more than the pro-referendum organizations. Expenditure diversification: The first thing that stands out is the significant variation in ad spend across committees. Although higher investments may suggest greater online visibility, they do not always translate directly into campaign effectiveness. Ad volume vs. investment: Interestingly, a higher number of ads did not always mean higher spending. Some committees focused on fewer but more expensive campaigns, while others dispersed their budgets across a larger number of less costly ads. FUNDACJA INITIUM spent 176 thousand PLN on a single video ad broadcast over the 3 days preceding the election weekend (October 11-13, 2023). Compared to the pre-election analysis where KW PIS expenditures accounted for 81.4% of the total, after the elections it was 56%.
The Final Month Counts
In analyzing party election campaign spending, a sharp increase in investment during the final month before the elections is clearly evident. From September 18 to the elections, some committees even multiplied their advertising expenditures several times over, reflecting their strategic decision to intensify marketing activities during the decisive phase of the campaign. KOMITET WYBORCZY PRAWO I SPRAWIEDLIWOŚĆ increased its spending from 2,534,500 PLN to an impressive 5,059,000 PLN. However, this is not the only party that decided to ramp up its efforts. KOALICYJNY KOMITET WYBORCZY KOALICJA OBYWATELSKA, starting from 551,250 PLN, wrapped up the campaign with expenditures reaching 2,274,750 PLN. Meanwhile, KOMITET WYBORCZY NOWA LEWICA, from an initial modest 17,000 PLN, raised its investment up to 583,750 PLN within a single month. Yet the most spectacular increase was recorded by KKW TRZECIA DROGA, which skyrocketed in one month from a symbolic 250 PLN to 442,750 PLN, signaling an abrupt shift in strategy or access to new financial resources. Election campaigns in Poland are becoming increasingly dynamic and marketing-driven, underscoring the significance of digital media and advertising in shaping public opinion. The final month before the elections has become a pivotal moment when electoral committees make every effort to win over as many voters as possible.
09/18/2023 - Total ad spend of electoral committees on Google in the 2023 parliamentary elections
10/23/2023 - Total ad spend of electoral committees on Google in the 2023 parliamentary elections
Comparison of spending distribution across electoral committees:
Cost Per Vote Analysis (CPV)
In the world of online marketing, terms like CPC (cost per click) and CPM (cost per thousand impressions) are well known. In the context of election campaigns, one can introduce the metric of CPV, or Cost Per Vote. It provides a clearer way to illustrate the cost efficiency of each committee's campaign spending. committee:Sejm election votes:total spending:CPVKW PRAWO I SPRAWIEDLIWOŚĆ7,640,8545,059,000.00 PLN0.66 PLNKKW KOALICJA OBYWATELSKA PO .N IPL ZIELONI6,629,4022,274,750.00 PLN0.34 PLNKKW TRZECIA DROGA POLSKA 2050 SZYMONA HOŁOWNI - POLSKIE STRONNICTWO LUDOWE3,110,670442,750.00 PLN0.14 PLNKW NOWA LEWICA1,859,018583,750.00 PLN0.31 PLNKW KONFEDERACJA WOLNOŚĆ I NIEPODLEGŁOŚĆ1,547,364408,250.00 PLN0.26 PLNKW BEZPARTYJNI SAMORZĄDOWCY401,054PLN 259,500.00PLN 0.65In the world of online marketing, we are familiar with terms such as CPC (cost per click) or CPM (cost per thousand impressions). In the context of election campaigns, an innovative approach can be introduced - CPV, or the cost per vote. Introducing this concept allows for a clearer representation of the campaign spending efficiency of individual committees. The CPV analysis shows that the Third Way Committee achieved the lowest CPV, amounting to just PLN 0.14. In stark contrast is the situation of KW PiS and BEZPARTYJNI SAMORZĄDOWCY, where the cost of obtaining a single vote was PLN 0.66 and PLN 0.65, respectively.
Methodology and Data Sources
The data used in this article comes directly from the Google Ads Transparency Center. This is a platform that provides information on advertising spending on the Google search engine. It allows users to track advertisers' investments across various ad formats and provides information about the overall scope of the ads displayed.
Analysis Timeframe:
The analysis covers the period from January 1 to September 18, 2023. This sheds light on the parties' advertising strategies in the lead-up to the parliamentary elections scheduled for October 15, 2023. As a result, we can better understand how the parties planned their campaigns and what resources were invested in them.Note on the analysis:For better understanding and clear presentation of the data, some entities have been combined in our analysis. These are:KKW TRZECIA DROGA PSL-PL2050 SZYMONA HOŁOWNI was combined with KWW Trzecia Droga Polska 2050 Szymona Hołowni - Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe. Both of these entities are closely linked and were treated as a single entity for the purposes of our analysis.KOALICYJNY KOMITET WYBORCZY KOALICJA OBYWATELSKA PO .N IPL ZIELONI, Platforma Obywatelska RP, and SOCIALTIME SPÓŁKA Z OGRANICZONĄ ODPOWIEDZIALNOŚCIĄ were also combined. Their activities and the nature of their ads are interrelated, and for the purposes of this analysis, they were recognized as a single entity. This approach allowed for a better understanding and interpretation of the analysis results, as well as avoiding unnecessary fragmentation of information.