Palmer’s political ad spend tops $1m in a month

Clive Palmer’s advertising blitz for his latest political bid topped $1 million for the month of September.

Clive Palmer’s advertising blitz for his latest political bid topped $1 million last month in radio and TV, new research shows.

Clive Palmer’s advertising blitz for his latest political bid topped $1 million last month in radio and TV, new research shows, as the businessman’s representatives indicate his media bombardment may be just beginning.

Media and marketing consultancy Ebiquity has estimated Mr Palmer spent $1.005m on 1168 separate TV and radio ad slots in the capital cities during the month.

This figure included $600,000 on TV ads in Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth, and nearly $407,000 on three radio stations in Sydney, Brisbane and Canberra.

And Mr Palmer’s media spokesman, Andrew Crook, has cryptically suggested this torrent of political self-promotion may be far from over, ahead of a likely federal election in the first half of next year.

“We mightn’t have even started,” Mr Crook said. “We haven’t even started. You’ll have to wait and see.”

Ebiquity’s figures show Fairfax Media radio offshoot Macquarie Media, owner of 2GB and 4BC, has been the biggest beneficiary of the media spending of Palmer’s United Australia Party, reaping an estimated $400,000.

The radio network ran a total of 787 ad slots last month on Sydney’s 2GB — home to high-­profile radio broadcasters Alan Jones and Ray Hadley — and Brisbane’s 4BC.

Mr Palmer remains involved in a Queensland Supreme Court battle over the collapse of Queensland Nickel in 2016.

 

The collapse resulted in 800 job losses and left federal government-appointed liquidators seeking hundreds of millions from Mr Palmer and several other ­parties, including his nephew Clive Mensink.

Parties associated with Mr Palmer have previously claimed some of the court actions were “evidence of the political witch hunt” against him.

The 2GB radio ad campaign was originally expected to run for about two weeks last month, but they have been airing for much longer and were still being heard frequently during the first week of this month.

Ebiquity’s managing director, Peter Cornelius, said while ­unions had sometimes run political ads, Mr Palmer’s spend was one of the biggest he could remember by a single person outside an election cycle.

“Trade unions have done it from time to time, but not an individual, because most individuals don’t have the money.”

Mr Cornelius said he thought the campaign was timed for Mr Palmer to capitalise on the chaos in Canberra in the wake of Malcolm Turnbull’s overthrow by his own party, beginning just days after the turmoil.

“Running this campaign during a non-election period is interesting, and at an estimated $1m, a significant spend over four weeks,” he said.

“The campaign is presumably aimed at potentially dissatisfied voters of the existing main parties — it also takes a dig at the Greens — and occurred immediately following the change of prime minister. The timing is no accident.”

Mr Cornelius said some ads were running “as if there is an election in progress”, and outlined some UAP policies. Others were simply a call for membership to the UAP, he said.

He said the amount Mr Palmer has spent could in fact be “significantly” higher than $1m. Ebiquity figures do not take into account the spending the UAP has made on billboards or in ­regional areas such as North Queensland, where Mr Palmer is said to be considering a tilt at becoming an MP once more in the Townsville seat of Herbert.

His resurgence in political spending comes almost exactly five years after the 2013 federal election that first saw him make a political mark. Ebiquity’s research indicates he spent about $3.36m in the lead-up to that election across TV, press and radio.

The advertising played a significant role in helping Mr Palmer be elected in the House of Representatives in the Sunshine Coast seat of Fairfax. Two other candidates of what was then the Palmer United Party, Glenn Lazarus in Queensland and Jacqui Lambie in Tasmania, were also elected to the Senate.

Both ultimately resigned from the Palmer United Party to sit as independents.

The content of Mr Palmer’s saturation ads appear to point to another populist tilt at significant parliamentary representation, that would appear to put him in competition with players such as Pauline Hanson.

Mr Cornelius said his ad spend on 2GB, in particular, was “heavyweight”, and obviously designed to change people’s opinions in conservative circles on a station heavily focused on politics.