Skip to main content
Let's Talk
Advocacy

Paid Media for Advocacy Organizations

Advertising for issue campaigns, ballot measures, PACs, and independent expenditure committees, planned around the rules that apply when the client isn't a candidate.

What Changes When You Aren't a Candidate

Most of what we do for candidates carries over to advocacy work: the targeting, the creative, and the media plan. The rules around it are what change. Broadcast stations treat issue groups differently from candidates, ad platforms ask for their own authorization, and independent expenditures come with coordination limits that shape how a program is built.

We plan for those rules from the start, so your ads clear review on schedule and the budget goes to the voters and lawmakers you need to reach.

What We Run

Advocacy Programs We Plan and Buy

Issue Campaigns

Ads that move a specific bill or decision, targeted to the districts of the lawmakers you need to reach and timed to the legislative or council calendar.

Ballot Measures

Awareness, persuasion, and turnout for a yes or no vote. Measures often sit far down the ballot, and in some states on the back of it, so part of the job is making sure supporters find it.

PACs and Independent Expenditures

Programs planned and bought independently of the candidates they support, with the disclaimers independent spending requires and the spending records your treasurer needs.

Supporter Growth

Petition and sign-up ads that grow your list between elections, so you have people ready to call, write, or show up when a vote comes.

Media Buying

Broadcast, cable, streaming, radio, digital, social, and mail, planned as one buy. Our own buyers place the TV and radio orders directly with stations.

Creative

Video, graphics, mail, and landing pages written for people who don't follow your issue as closely as you do and need a clear reason to care about it.

The Rules

What Shapes an Advocacy Buy

Four differences from a candidate campaign that we plan around before anything airs.

Broadcast Rates

Stations must sell to candidates at their lowest unit rate in the weeks before an election. That rate doesn't apply to PACs or issue groups, and stations can decline their ads, so an advocacy buy takes more negotiation and earlier planning.

Station Review

Stations can be held responsible for the content of ads from outside groups, so they often ask for documentation behind factual claims before an ad airs. Source every claim in the script before it goes to stations.

Platform Authorization

Meta requires authorization and a "Paid for by" disclaimer on ads about social issues, elections, or politics, even outside election season. Google requires advertiser verification for election ads, including ads about ballot measures. Start verification before the creative is final.

Coordination and Disclaimers

Independent expenditures can't be coordinated with the candidate's campaign, which limits shared plans, footage, and timing. Their disclaimers usually have to say no candidate authorized the ad, and the wording depends on whether the race is federal or state.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you work with PACs and independent expenditure committees?
Yes. We plan, produce, and buy independent expenditure programs for PACs and other committees, and we plan them around the coordination rules that keep them independent of the candidates they support.
Can you run issue ads when there's no election?
Yes. Issue campaigns often run during a legislative session or ahead of a public vote. Meta still treats these as social issue ads, so the same authorization and disclaimer rules apply year-round.
How early should we start?
As early as you can. Platform authorization can take days, stations may ask for documentation behind your claims, and a ballot measure needs time to build awareness before it can persuade anyone. For an issue campaign tied to a legislative vote, start planning before the session begins.
Do you work with organizations in any state?
Yes. We work nationally, and we plan each program around the disclaimer, reporting, and ballot rules of the state where it runs.
Services

Related Services

Media Buying

How we plan and place a buy across TV, streaming, digital, radio, and mail.

Social Media Advertising

Issue and election ads on Facebook, Instagram, and other social platforms.

Television Advertising

Broadcast and cable buys placed directly with stations.

Direct Mail

Mail programs for issue campaigns, ballot measures, and committees.

Planning an Advocacy Campaign?

Tell us what you're trying to move and who needs to hear it, and we'll put together a plan.

Contact Us