Health Care for America Now bills itself as “an unprecedented coalition of major organizations including labor unions, large community-based membership groups, women’s groups, DC think tanks, doctors, nurses, small businesses, and leading netroots activists.” It’s also well-heeled – it has $40M to spend promoting its cause: “quality, affordable health care for every American.”
It’ll kick off spending $1.5M of that on national television, print and online – targeting 52 cities, 38 of which are state capitals. It will have feet on the ground in 45 states and will drop $25M in advertising buys between now and Election Day.
The driving organizations behind the coalition, all members of its steering committee, include ACORN, AFSCME, Americans United for Change, Campaign for America’s Future, Center for American Progress Action Fund, Center for Community Change, MoveOn.org, National Education Association, National Women’s Law Center, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, SEIU, United Food and Commercial Workers, and USAction.
RBR/TVBR observation: As long as this group avoids advocating the election or defeat of any candidate for federal office, they should be free to spend as they like, if we understand the Supreme Court decision in Wisconsin Right to Life. This is despite the fact that one of the organizers of this group includes Elizabeth Edwards, representing the Center for American Progress Action Fund, wife of former senator, presidential and VP candidate John Edwards (D-NC), and another is Eli Pariser of MoveOn.org, certainly no friend to Republican candidates. For broadcasters, it’s another $25M+ to help minimize the impact of another bleak revenue year.
Although not mentioned as part of the group’s immediate media plan, radio should make itself known to this group. If it wants to get maximum bang for its media buck with a national footprint, radio should be in the mix. This is particularly true if state capitals and the governors and state legislators therein are big targets. Many capitals are located in smaller media markets, and in many cases radio may be the best way to assure that the impressions are being delivered as intended.
But radio may well benefit regardless even if the group focuses mainly on TV. If that happens, it will put even more pressure on inventory there and cause spillover into radio as politicians and influence groups look for a place to spend their cash.
