Attention Economy Part 2: Monsters

I believe it is important to view communications and marketing efforts through the lens of the attention economy - the highly competitive space of garnering attention for your message.

Now that we are past Labor Day in the heat of another competitive election year, the competitive nature of messaging through traditional media, social media, and other platforms will become MONSTROUS!

According to a July 1 story from The Hill, a record breaking 10.7 billion dollars will be spent on ads this election year. This was before the election dynamic changed with Biden dropping out of the race and Harris picking up the reins for the democrats.

In addition to the ad buys, segments of the creator communities on social media will be churning out political content as well, and some of it will be controversial and maybe outrageous.

There is not much comms and marketing folks can do about the election year amplification of the attention economy, but one thing - let those you serve know that these election year dynamics affect the amount and the cost (in paid ads) of attention you can garner with your best efforts. This is especially true if you are trying to reach folks in battleground states.

The mental image that comes up for me is Godzilla rampaging through a city.

Stay safe out there y’all.