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"Koeppel Direct's media buying expertise has played an integral role in making my company successful. Koeppel generated so much business for our company, occasionally we have to limit their media buys, in order to handle all of the new business." | |
| - R. Gregg Marketer of Senior Products |
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Political Marketing FAQ's ...... |
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Call us today at 469-828-0875 for a Free Consultation. |
Political Marketing includes communications supporting or opposing a candidate, an
office holder, a political party, or a measure (a ballot proposition).
Candidate Advertising
For the express purpose of electing a person to public office and is funded through direct contributions to the
campaign committee.
Guidelines for Candidate Advertising
All candidates are entitled to certain protections regarding the purchase and airing of advertising based on the
office they are seeking.
Federal offices are those for Senate, Congress and President. Rules and guidelines established by
the FCC were created specifically for these offices.
Non-Federal offices range from governor and state senator to sheriff and judge. Many, but not all, of
the same rules governing federal elections apply to these races.
Reasonable Access
The Communications Act of 1934 provides that all candidates for federal office be given reasonable access to
radio and television stations inventory. This same right is not afforded to non-federal candidates; however,
the FCC has indicated that a station must keep in mind its "public interest" obligations of reporting
important state or local races. Once a station decides to make time available to a non-federal candidate,
it is required to comply with all regulatory obligations, including equal opportunity and lowest unit
charge.
Equal Opportunity
The Communications Act of 1934 provides that if a station provides air time to a "legally qualified candidate"
then "equal opportunities" to use the station must be provided to the candidate's opponents. This applies to
all legally qualified candidates in both primary and general elections, federal, state, and local.
The right to equal opportunities applies only to "opposing candidates." In a general election this means
candidates running for the same office. In a primary election this means candidates of the same party running
for nomination for the same office.
The doctrine of equal opportunity imposes two basic obligations on the licensees:
Stations must allow opposing candidates the same opportunities advertise on the station. Stations do
not need to provide the identical time period or program, but must provide broadcast time of "comparable
desirability"
Stations may not discriminate in any manner - they must treat political candidates in a fair,
impartial and consistent fashion
Lowest Unit Charge (LUC)
Lowest Unit Charge (LUC) was established by the FCC in the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to
protect legally qualified candidates from excessive advertising costs.
Stations are required to charge all legally qualified candidates no more than the lowest unit charge for
each class and amount of time for the same period for a "use" of a station, thus ensuring that low rates,
available to regular commercial advertisers, are also available to politicians, regardless of when they place
their schedules (within the political window period).
Legally Qualified Candidate
The person must be eligible under the qualifications set forth in the U.S. Constitution (Federal
Candidates) or under local law to hold the office sought.
The person must have publicly announced his or her candidacy.
Political Window Period
Begins 45 days prior to a primary election.
Begins 60 days prior to a general election.
Party Committees are organizations, officially affiliated with a political party and regulated by the
Federal Elections Committee, which raise and spend money for political campaigning and can be at the federal
or state level. If they are advocating a particular candidate, the same rules apply
Non-Candidate Advertising
Soft Money
These are funds raised and spent by organizations which do not contribute directly to candidate campaigns, and
which do not "expressly advocate" the election or defeat of a candidate. In the past, political parties, as well
as other organizations could spend unregulated funds on any advertising that did not highlight a particular
candidate. However the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA), also know as McCain-Feingold, prohibits national
political parties from raising or spending soft money.
Recently, other types of organizations have stepped in to handle this type of advertising, known as 527's.
While all federal political committees-whether candidate committees, party committees, or PACs-are section 527
organizations, as are state and local political organizations, the term 527 now refers to a new group of
political advocacy organizations.
527's get their name from the Internal Revenue Code (Section 527) that governs the tax status of political
organizations that operate primarily for the purpose of impacting candidate selection. However, these
organizations do not make expenditures that 'expressly advocate' the election or defeat of any candidate for
federal elective office and, are therefore tax-exempt and are not currently regulated by the FEC.
Political action committees (PACs) are political committees officially independent of parties and candidates,
but raise funds and make expenditures for the purpose of supporting, defeating or highlighting issues.
They are regulated by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
Issue Advertising
Legislative Advertising is a communication that supports, opposes or proposes legislation.
Sometimes referred to as Issue/Ballot Advertising, legislative advertising targets particular issues and
referenda before voters or a governing body, such as a state legislature or the US Congress. This advertising
is funded by unions, corporations or interest groups.
Currently, there are no FCC mandated rules regarding this advertising, with the exception of disclaimer and
public file requirements. However, the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (McCain-Feingold) now regulates issue
advocacy that qualifies as an "electioneering communication" and issue advocacy by any federal political
committee (Republican or Democratic National Committees).
The following guidelines apply to all types of political advertising, including Issue/ Advocacy
Creative Requirements
All political ads require the following:
A disclaimer identifying the candidate and the name of the committee paying for the ad
For television, the disclaimer must appear on the screen for a minimum of 4 seconds and letters must
measure at least 4% of the vertical picture height. Television stations may use audio identification in
addition to, but not as a substitute for, visual identification
For radio, audio identification must be clearly audible and of sufficient length to reasonably convey the
specific identity of the person or entity buying the time
The candidate must appear in the ad stating that they authorize or approve the ad (applies to candidate
advertising only)
Please note that some states have different requirements for disclaimers that must be followed. For example,
the state of Florida requires both visual and audio disclaimers.
Political File Requirements
Stations are required to maintain files, open to the public, which include:
A copy of all requests for broadcast time made by or on behalf of a candidate for public office
Names of officers of organizations that pay for or furnish programs or announcements
Copies of air schedules including rates paid and any rebates given
All materials required must be placed in the file as soon as possible
Political records in the public file may be inspected and copied just like any other material in the file
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