Who we are

NOBODY REALLY DOES IT LIKE WE DO. We combine all the services necessary to run a comprehensive, effective, winning campaign by providing targeted media buying, media research, advertising coordination, and production.

WE CAN TURN ON A DIME. We are specialists in executing deadline-oriented media campaigns with short lead times. The complicated, rapidly changing conditions and the specific tracking necessary in a political media campaign are beyond the logistical capabilities of most agencies. For us it is the norm. Our staff understands the unique media challenges candidates face.

MOST AGENCIES base their media buys on the basic demographics supplied by the standard rating services. This is inefficient when promoting a political client. Voters in primary elections, for example, can be as little as 10% to 15% of the total adults listed in the media rating services’ general material.

Joseph Mercurio has developed the science of media targeting beyond the techniques utilized by other agencies. Our media buys are based on specialized political re search designed to determine the listening and viewing habits of specific target audiences in tightly defined political geographic areas.

NATIONAL POLITICAL SERVICES, INC., can analyze the performance of television and radio stations. Voter registration, turnout and election results can be matched with viewing habits on a county-by-county basis. Add to this the media questions and demographics from your polling, and you have tight media targeting. This targeting is particularly effective where a desired audience cuts across a variety of demographic and geographic categories—precisely what happens in political campaigns.

Typically the media budget in political campaigns is misspent. Commercials are placed on the wrong station or program, they go on at the wrong time and do not reach their intended audience—or they deliver the wrong message for a particular station or program format. Anyone can spend media money for a campaign and, all too often, political campaigns hurt themselves by doing their own time buys or by using local agencies that do not understand the special research and logistical needs of political campaigns.

Our intense media research and our close work with the campaign pollsters enable us to advise our clients on specific stations to use, and which time periods and programs to choose in order to reach voters. We also work with the campaign pollsters to ensure that polling includes questions about the media habits of voters. Advertising is only as effective as its ability to reach, persuade and turn out specific audiences, i.e., favorables, undecided voters, ticket-splitters, and those who will be strongly influenced by attack ads.

Whenever possible, we will streamline the candidate’s budget. By proper planning of airtime, we can eliminate those segments that are wasted or would otherwise be misplaced. This increased efficiency can lead to a 10% to 15% increase in audience size for the same dollars.

Because of our extensive use of specialized research tools we can make sure the candidate, using the right combination of television and radio, will reach the largest possible audience economically. We do not simply spend money on expensive programs with "large" audiences; we seek out the spot positions that fit the needs of the campaign’s targeting and reach the voters who are receptive to the candidate’s message.

After the research is done, we work with the campaign staff and the candidate to set goals for the media campaign: who to reach and what to reach them with, to elicit the desired response. We then tailor the radio, cable and television package to the particular candidate’s needs.

We prepare the radio, cable and television budgets detailing recommended markets and their respective costs. We calculate reach and frequency levels to show what percentage of the audience will see or hear a commercial and how often a commercial will be seen or heard by the average viewer. Budgets for various options are prepared based on the changing political and funding strategies of the campaign.

The flow of media through the weeks of a campaign and the level of activity on a particular day are carefully weighed. Each detail is planned in advance so changes in commercial length, traffic instructions and total dollars spent can be modified easily without missing a beat in the campaign.

Once the plans and budgets are approved, we place the orders, process the contracts with media outlets and pay the stations in advance, as required by law.

We send the radio, cable and television media outlets their specific traffic instructions (when to run which commercials). We perform all the revisions necessary along the way as strategies develop, or cash flow requires.

Given our experience with high-pres sure media campaigns, we process all these tasks quickly and efficiently. Should traffic instructions need to be changed at the last minute, we can immediately relay the necessary revisions to the stations.

We can provide pre-buy draft budgets in spot-by-spot detail. We can update this data before airdates, again after the weekly schedule runs and later when the final station performance schedules are checked after the schedule has run.

While the campaign is running and after it finishes, we monitor stations’ performance, arrange for "make goods" (reruns) of spots that did not play as ordered and credits for material that did not run at all.

Strict records are kept of all orders placed and confirmed by the stations, and all monies dispensed. These records are open to inspection at all times, and we can furnish copies of all contracts with stations upon re quest. At the end of the media campaign we will prepare a detailed report.

The specific needs of your campaign determine the appropriate type of media package you should employ. NATIONAL POLITICAL SERVICES, INC., can work with independent producers to develop radio, cable and television ads as well as direct mail campaigns.

We go beyond advising candidates on the most effective media to utilize. Based on our long experience and our specialization in political campaigns, we can coordinate the entire creative team.

In addition we are well equipped to handle and resolve differences that may arise with a station over complicated FCC rules. Our background and extensive experience in dealing with the FCC usually leads to a prompt resolution of disputes which otherwise might damage or delay the campaign. Most local agencies are not equipped to deal with these complicated questions and need to "go-along to get-along" with their local stations.

Because of our expertise in regional campaigns, many organizations have turned to us to plan their media strategies on political referenda, propositions and issue advertising. We have found that station policies, FCC regulations and local laws make this type of advertising even more complex than federal candidates running for office. We have already worked on many of these campaigns from coast to coast, and developed a vast storehouse of in formation which is applicable.

Longer programs running from five minutes to a half-hour or more have become a specialty of ours. Understanding and working with the pro gram needs of stations is usually out of the scope of most local agencies. This is another area where we can meet the needs of a campaign.

We can set up, using airtime monitor reporting services, opposition media analysis and develop critical assessments for response and adjustments of the campaign’s media buy.

Placement of print, outdoor, transit and web advertising is available for campaigns that are also electronic media clients.

Our fee for a media time buy is usually a portion of the normal agency commission allowed by the stations. Additionally, related expenses, (travel, production costs, tape duplication, special research) are billed to clients.

Naturally, the size of the media budget, the number of markets and stations, and weeks that make up the campaign will determine the fee.