Multi-million cash splash on poll eve

A multi-million-dollar advertising spending bonanza is set to flood the media market ahead of the federal election.

United Australia Party leader Clive Palmer. Picture: AAP

A multi-million-dollar advertising spending bonanza is set to flood the media market ahead of the federal election on Saturday.

With a staggering $57 million-plus already spent on election ads across commercial free-to-air television, radio and newspapers by billionaire businessman Clive Palmer and three political parties, the final week of the hotly contested election campaign is seen as critical to win over voters.

Palmer’s United Australian Party, which has spent $39.1m on ads across traditional media, is expected to ramp up ad spending across the board, with Liberal and Labor trailing well behind, advertising and media executives say.

From 12am Thursday, political party ads won’t be allowed on commercial television and radio because of the election advertising blackout law. But it does not affect print and digital media, including Google, YouTube and Facebook.

The Broadcasting Services Act 1992 does not prohibit print media and online services from running ads from the political parties, as the legislation pre-dates the internet and other data-enabled technologies, including digital platforms.

Mr Palmer, who is looking to become kingmaker in federal politics after securing a preference deal with Liberal leader Scott Morrison last month, could spend as much as $60m on political ads by May 18 election day, according to Leif Stromnes, managing director of strategy and innovation at ad group DDB Australia.

Mr Stromnes said Mr Palmer was spending big on ads because he didn’t “get the airtime the Labor and Liberal guys get on prime-time TV and debates. No one is going to listen to Clive Palmer.

“But if you’re judging his advertising, he’s winning hands down. Budgets matter, unfortunately. At the end of the day, all the dream of digital being cheap and free and earned media is bullshit. You buy reach and he’s bought reach. He’s done that and he’s done that bloody effectively.’’

Mr Stromnes said on a drive to Noosa at Easter, billboards of Mr Palmer were “all up the coast,” while his local paper, The Manly Daily in Sydney, has run half-page ads for UAP. “Buying traditional media makes him look big. It makes him look much bigger than he is. He’s tiny. He’s smaller than One Nation. He looks massive and this is what traditional media can do for you. He looks like a big player,” Mr Stromnes said.

Mr Palmer’s spending across TV, radio and newspapers was “a massive vote of confidence for traditional media”, he said.

“Social is a good way and digital is a good way to extend reach but nothing beats traditional media for reach,” he said.

Mungo McCall, director of ­Nielsen ad intel portfolio, said the “federal election has been a loud one”. The UAP had a 57 per cent share of ad spending, with Labor, Liberal and the Greens accounting for 43 per cent, Mr McCall said.

“When compared to each previous election, United Australia Party has already spent more than the highest spender of that election. Only time will tell the impact these ads have had on voters.”

Of the $57m-plus already spent on election ads, $39.1m was by UAP on TV, radio and newspapers ads from September until May 5, according to data and analytics group Nielsen.

That’s three times more than the combined spend of $17.9m by the three major parties. Liberal and Labor are neck and neck with spending of $8.8m and $9m, respectively. The Greens have spent $80,000 so far this campaign.

The $57m dwarfs the $15.8m spent by the three political parties during the 2016 federal election.

However, the figures don’t include ads on social media and outdoor advertising, including billboards, so the total figure is likely to be much higher.

Mr Palmer’s yellow and black ads have run prominently across News Corp and Nine Entertainment Co’s newspapers and billboards around the country, coupled with TV and radio ads on major commercial stations, including Seven and 2GB.

During the 2016 federal election campaign, Liberals splashed $8.7m on TV, radio and newspapers ads, while Labor spent $6.3m and the Greens $800,000.

The final two weeks of the 2016 campaign accounted for 70 per cent of total ad spending, 53 per cent of which was in the last week.

Google Australia, which booked revenue of $1.07 billion last year, declined to comment on individual advertisers. Facebook also declined to comment.