Sometimes people don’t believe it, but it’s the reality: TV advertising matters.

TV ads are a big part of the exposure that most voters will get to a political campaign. And Michiganders still tend to watch a lot of TV — especially seniors. TV ads are also expensive, and consequently, TV ends up being a big part of most campaigns’ budgets.

It’s doubly true in Michigan, where we have 11 media markets to reach and one of the most expensive media markets in the country in Detroit.

But not all TV ads are created equal. There are a couple of ways to secure that critical airtime at a lower rate.

The first variable is when you reserve ad time. Ad rates are constantly fluctuating depending on demand. As you might imagine, by October there will be a lot of demand for the airwaves as political spenders flood the state in advance of the November general election. Reserving that time early can save a campaign hundreds of thousands of dollars — if they have the cash early enough to do it.

The second variable is who reserves that ad time. The FCC guarantees that candidates can buy TV ads at the lowest rate during certain windows in the lead-up to an election. Outside political groups, meanwhile, can be charged at the higher rates.

So while we know these groups are prepared to spend millions of dollars on attack ads against Elissa — and that our best line of defense is sharing Elissa’s positive message by keeping our own ads on the air — we know that our money can be stretched a little further, especially if we can reserve ads as early as possible.

So why don’t campaigns buy all of their TV reservations five months or even a year out? The answer is money — while donations are most useful early in the campaign, contributions tend to come in towards the very end of the campaign. That’s why launching our TV ads early was a bit of a risk, and why your support now is so beneficial to our campaign’s efforts to reach voters all the way through Election Day.

So with all of that in mind, will you consider an $3 donation to our campaign, so that we can keep our ads on the air and reserve airtime at the lowest cost possible?

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Thank you,

Team Slotkin

PAID FOR BY ELISSA SLOTKIN FOR MICHIGAN

P.O. Box 4145
East Lansing, MI 48826

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Elissa Slotkin served in the Central Intelligence Agency and the Department of Defense. Use of her job titles and photographs during service do not imply endorsement by the Central Intelligence Agency OR the Department of Defense.