FAQ Digital Ads - old - SpeakEasy Political

Digital Ads

What is your minimum spend for digital ads?

Our minimum per creative execution (a ‘set’ of banner ads including multiple sizes or one video) is $1,000. This minimum ensures that your ads receive meaningful reach and frequency for maximum impact.

How do I get started with creating a digital ad?

To get started on your digital campaign, please navigate to our Digital Ad page and choose what kind of ad you’d like to create: a banner ad from an optimally sized template, a pre-designed banner to upload, or a pre-roll video ad.

How do I select a design for my ad?

The SpeakEasy site has many designs to choose from. You can browse our templates by the different types of ads, such as Name ID designs, Fundraising designs, Community Organizing designs, and many more. Each design will come in all 4 recommended banner sizes to ensure maximum impact.

Can I upload my own banner creative to the SpeakEasy site?

Yes! Many campaigns chose to upload their own creative and then leverage our data and media buying tools. If you have your own banner or design code, you can upload it to the SpeakEasy website under the ‘Digital Ad’ page by clicking the red button at the bottom of the page that says ‘Upload Ad.’

I want to use my own creative for banner ads. What format should I create them in?

Banner ads should be formatted as PNG, JPEG, or GIF. For maximum deliverability, please create as many as possible of the below ad sizes. We recommend a minimum of four of the frequently used sizes:

Inline rectangle: 300 x 250
Leaderboard: 728 x 90
Half-page: 300 x 600
Mobile: 300 x 50 or 320 x 50
File format for delivery: GIF, JPG, PNG

Remember:

Please be sure to include a 1-pixel border around any banner ads with a white background/white background element so that they do not blend into the background of the website.
Please make sure that all files are exactly the sizes above (even a 1-pixel difference will cause errors in the ad server) and labeled with the creative concept and size, for example: Education_300x250 or GOTV_728x90.

Where can I see my drafted digital ads?

In the upper right corner of any SpeakEasy webpage, click the ‘My Account’ button. You will be directed to the page with your account information. On the left side of the page, you can choose to view your drafts from both digital and mail ads.

Can I upload an image, graphic or logo to the SpeakEasy platform for my banner ad?

Yes. When building out a digital piece in our template builder, there is an option to ‘Upload Image,’ which allows you to customize the image that is being displayed.

How do I change the photos on my digital ads?

Many of our templates offer the ability to upload your own photo, logo or image. When in the ‘Design’ page, scroll to the bottom of the ‘Content’ section on the left side. There is a button to ‘Change image’ where you can either upload an image from your computer or select a previously uploaded image.

Can I move the text boxes on the digital ads?

No. In order to make sure all banners comply with digital ad guidelines, the templates on SpeakEasy are pre-built. Users are unable to move around graphics or text boxes, but can customize fonts, images, and some colors on the templates.

Can I upload additional fonts to customize my banner ad?

Custom fonts cannot be uploaded into the SpeakEasy template builder.

Do I need to include a disclaimer on my ads?

Disclaimer rules and regulations vary by state. Each digital banner ad template includes a space to add a disclaimer. By default, this section will have “Your Disclaimer Here” so don’t forget to edit it! SpeakEasy is not responsible for reviewing your banner ad for compliance with federal, state, or local laws. Please ensure that you have confirmed that your ad is in compliance before placing your order.

How do I add an extra textbox to my ad?

Unfortunately, you cannot add extra text to your ad. To ensure that all of the text on the banner templates fits within best practice dimensions and is large enough for viewers to read on their phone or computer, we have pre-set amounts of text space on each banner.

Is there a representative from SpeakEasy that can help guide me through the design process?

SpeakEasy is designed to be fully self-service. That being said, if you have any questions about how to customize the templates, please check out our Youtube video that walks you through the template creation process or submit a customer support ticket. Our templates are designed to be easy-to-use, and are all created by professional graphic designers who have created banner ads for hundreds of winning political campaigns!

Do you require that I input a click-through URL (landing page)?

Yes. Due to digital regulations, all banner or pre-roll ads must include a click-through URL.

Can I add multiple URLs to a single ad?

No. Due to industry-wide digital regulations, each banner ad can only click through to one URL.

What URL should I use for my landing page?

Many campaigns link their digital ad either directly to the homepage of their website or to a subpage that matches the call to action. For example, if the ad says, “sign up to get involved!” you could link to your volunteer sign up page. If you don’t have a website, we have seen great success with campaigns linking to a Facebook page.

Can I upload my own list?

Yes! Many SpeakEasy users chose to upload a custom voter list to our platform. Please click the “Have your own data” button on the Target Ads page to upload your list. The more data points the better, but please be sure to include: first name, last name, email and full address at the minimum.

What is the smallest list size I can upload?

As a general rule of thumb, we ask that lists contain 5,000 or more people. This helps us make sure that we’re able to deliver a meaningful campaign against your target audience. However, we know that some districts may be smaller, so we are happy to work with clients on a case-by-case basis to figure out the best targeting plan based on your goals, budgets, and flight dates.

How many people on my list ‘matched’?

Due to industry-wide privacy restrictions, we do not have visibility into how many individuals on your list matched or who did not match. However, we are able to share how many devices and cookies we were able to match to your lists. We closely monitor metrics such as device or household reach to ensure your buy is as effective as possible.

What is your average match rate?

Generally, digital match rates fall within 40-60%. The digital match rate varies based on several factors, including the number of data points uploaded, the recency of the data, and the demographics of the district. For example, a very rural district with limited internet access may have a lower match rate than a list where residents are using the internet more frequently.

Where does SpeakEasy Political get their voter data from?

Our partnership with TargetSmart unlocks up-to-date voter files for political candidates using our platform. Our tools allow you to match your digital ads and direct mail with likely voters in your state, city, or political district. You can also upload your own data to our platform.

How do I use your data to target my digital ads?

The SpeakEasy team has streamlined the targeting process to make it easy to select your audience. Check out our video here to see the targeting tool in action! For example, if you are running for School Board, when at the ‘Target’ page of the template builder, simply press ‘School District” and choose what district you are running in. Then choose what type of voter you aim to target and you’re done! SpeakEasy’s data selector is powered by TargetSmart, one of the leading Democratic voter data providers.

How should I set my run dates?

The SpeakEasy platform puts the run dates of your digital ads completely in your hands. For a digital campaign, we typically recommend a minimum of a 7-day flight to ensure maximum impression delivery against your audience, although some concentrated Get Out the Vote (GOTV) pushes may be shorter. There is no maximum number of days to run – some campaigns start their first digital order months before Election Day.

How much should I spend on digital?

Based on our research, the average winning campaign is spending more than 25% of total campaign budget online, which includes Facebook, Twitter, banner ads, online video, and even Connected TV (CTV). This percentage has been rising each year and some campaigns spend nearly 50% of their budgets online.

What lengths of video should I use for my SpeakEasy digital campaign?

For the best digital performance, we typically recommend 15 or 30-second ads. As a rule of thumb, shorter videos tend to have higher video completion rates. While longer ads are great to post organically, 60-second or longer ads can be expensive to place, and also minimize delivery when used in a paid digital strategy. For that reason, SpeakEasy is only able to accept 15 and 30-second video ads.

Can I place ads on Facebook with the SpeakEasy Political platform?

Yes. We have a new tool that allows users to create Facebook ads. That being said, due to the changes Facebook has made to its political advertising policy, we have found it most effective for campaigns with less than a $10,000 budget for Facebook ads to run the campaigns themselves. We’ve built out a library of free resources to help launch an effective Facebook campaign including:

Our free creative tool
A webinar on Facebook for down-ballot campaigns
Our boosted post best practices blog.

How does SpeakEasy define a digital impression?

Impressions are the number of times that your ad is shown online to a viewer. We are able to “count” these by using tracking pixels implemented through our media buying platform.

How many impressions are included in my order?

For a $1,000 buy, we estimate delivery of between 70,000-100,000 impressions for banner ads and 20,000-35,000 impressions for video. This estimated range scales as you increase your buy. Our pricing is all-inclusive of media, the use our professionally designed templates, data, and our team of media buyers who work to optimize each campaign for maximum impact. And the amount you see as you’re paying for your SpeakEasy order is your final total – we don’t charge any fees, retainers or monthly minimums.

If I have a draft on my account I would like to delete, how would I do so?

Go to ‘My Account,’ and under ‘My Account information,’ click on either ‘Digital ads: Drafts’ or ‘Direct mail: Drafts.’ This will bring you to the ‘My Ads’ page, where you can select the ad dropdown with the ‘+’ button. Select ‘Remove Draft’ on the right-hand side to delete your draft.

Can I pay with a check?

In order to ensure your ads begin running on time, we are not able to accept check payments for amounts less than $10,000. If you are having trouble processing your credit or debit card, please try calling your bank and alerting them to an upcoming charge via Stripe (our credit card processing company) so they know not to flag the charge as fraudulent.

My card was declined! What should I do?

If you are having trouble processing your credit or debit card, please try calling your bank and alerting them to an upcoming charge via Stripe (our credit card processing company) so they know not to flag the charge as fraudulent. Please wait 30 minutes and then process your order again. If you continue to have trouble processing your payment, please open up a ticket with our support team.

Is there a way to retrieve a campaign draft if it was accidentally deleted on my account?

Unfortunately once a draft is deleted, there is no way to retrieve it. Please be sure to avoid deleting a draft unless you are sure that you do not wish to use it at any point.

Are there any limitations to what kind of videos I can upload for my video ad?

SpeakEasy Political can only serve 15 or 30s video ads that meet the below specifications. Resolution: 1280 x 720 or 1920 x 1080 Aspect ratio: 16:9 Constant Bitrate: 15-30 Mbps File Formats: QuickTime movie (.mov) or MPEG-4 (.mp4) format only If you have any questions about how to edit your video to meet these requirements, please contact your video editor or creator.

Can I edit my video on the SpeakEasy site?

While SpeakEasy does not have a video editing component, you can target and launch your video from the site.

Is there a limit to how many campaigns I can run at once?

No, there is no limit to the number of campaigns you can run on SpeakEasy’s platform.

Can I add multiple pieces of creative into the same campaign?

Each digital order on SpeakEasy can only have one set of creative. If you would like to launch multiple campaigns (for example, a Name ID banner, education-focused banner, and pre-roll campaign), please check out with separate orders. This allows you to set custom budgets, flight dates, and landing pages for each of your creatives. But, you may pay for your campaigns all at once, if you prefer.

If I am creating multiple ad campaigns in my account, am I able to pay for them all at once?

In the checkout phase, you are able to pay for all of your campaigns at once if you would prefer.

Does the size of the digital ad affect how much it costs in the final total?

No, the size of the digital ad does not affect the final total. We base the final cost on the impressions the ad campaign will receive.

Once I submit my digital ad, will the SpeakEasy team check it over for misspelling, design flaws, etc.?

SpeakEasy is not able to proofread each ad for misspellings or spacing issues. While our team checks all ads for any technical issues, we highly recommend asking two friends or members of your campaign team to help proofread your ads for spelling, inclusion of the correct disclaimer, and any spacing issues.

Where can I see my previously run ads?

To access your previously run ads, go to ‘My Account’ and on the left-hand side of the page under ‘My Account Information,’ select either ‘Digital ads: Previously run’ or ‘Direct mail: Previously sent’ to access your previously run ads with SpeakEasy.