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Hundreds of millions being spent on advertising alone
Julian Richardson, Business Observer staff reporter
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
This year's election campaign is shaping up to be the most expensive of all time, as the island's two major political forces - the ruling People's National Party (PNP) and the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) - seem set on winning an intense advertising battle launched by the JLP some weeks ago.
"I would say that if we were able to have the parties reveal their books at the end of this exercise, we would be looking at a very expensive election," said Lloyd B Smith, editor and publisher of the Montego Bay-based Western Mirror newspaper. "Certainly, this will be the mother of all elections in terms of expenditure."
An analysis of the advertising rates of media houses that have been heavily used by political parties so far gives an indication of the hundreds of millions of dollars that have been laid down on the campaign trail.
Full page colour advertisements in the island's two daily newspapers attract a price tag of a little over $81,000, while similar advertisements in the high volume Sunday editions run close to $175,000. In the electronic media, which has so far been the preferred medium by the political parties, a 60-second advertising spot on television during prime time - 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm - can cost anywhere from $34,000 to a high of $65,000.
Generation 2000 (G2K), the group of young professionals that support the JLP, is calculated to have spent well over a million dollars on advertisements in just three days after they placed a full page colour advertisement in the two major newspapers over the weekend and on Monday, and booked heavily rotated advertisements during the news segments on the two major television stations and on radio over last weekend.
Last year, Senator Delano Franklyn, the junior foreign minister, estimated that the next general election could cost the two major political parties and the state approximately $2 billion.
Political analysts contacted by the Business Observer were able to give a definitive estimate of how much will be spent, but agreed that there will be a significant outflow of funds during the next seven weeks, especially by the PNP, which will seek to respond to the JLP's onslaught in past weeks.
"I think there is some amount of cat-and-mouse going on between the political parties. I have a gut feeling that part of the PNP's strategy is to get the JLP to spend off most of its money," said Smith.
His reference was to the fact that the country has another seven weeks until the August 27 elections, the date of which was announced by Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller on Sunday.
"We must not fool ourselves, there are still some very big business interests, both inside and outside of the country, that favour the PNP and I suspect that what we are going to see happening, especially after the holiday period and heading into the peak of the election campaign, is a tremendous amount of PNP activity," added Smith.
One highly placed PNP supporter, who spoke to the Business Observer on condition of anonymity, bolstered Smith's assessment by disclosing that the PNP will spend some $300 million on advertising during the next seven weeks. He said that a significant portion of this cash would be spent on a direct counter-advertisement to the G2K's 'not changing course' commercial which has been airing repeatedly throughout prime time on the electronic media.
"Here on in we have a $300 million budget for the next seven weeks on our side...we are going to bombard the airwaves with the positive change campaign," said the supporter. "Both parties will have to spend a lot of money. I estimate the JLP has already spent $100 million over the last five weeks on advertising."
The Business Observer was unable to get a costing on the motorcades and mass rallies staged by both political parties so far. However, one PNP worker admitted that those activities are "very expensive".
The consensus among the political analysts interviewed by the Business Observer was that the JLP has been the more savvy of the two political parties thus far in terms of their advertisements. Charlene Sharpe Pryce, head of History, Geography and Social Sciences at Northern Caribbean University, said that a major factor behind this has been that the PNP are being outgunned by the JLP's G2K.
"This is probably the first in a long time that we are seeing the youth arm of the Jamaica Labour Party so organised and really having their fingers on the ball," said Sharpe-Pryce. "We are really not getting much out of the PNPYO, and I am figuring that there are some internal disturbances there."
Political historian Troy Cain believes that the 'Not changing course' advertisement has been a very effective arsenal for the opposition party.
The 60-second clip shows Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller repeatedly saying that she's "not changing course", along with other strategically placed soundbites from PNP ministers of Government.
"So far, from all appearances and responses that I have got on the ground is that the JLP's ad campaign has been extremely effective to the point where many people feel its having an effect on the PNP's campaign," said Cain. "I suppose you might see a more intensified advertising campaign by the PNP and consequently more by the JLP, but thus far it appears as if it is a one-man show."
Cain argued that the perceived effectiveness of the JLP campaign, as opposed to the PNP's lukewarm response so far, played a major role in the prime minister's decision to have a seven-week wait period for Jamaicans to go to the polls.
"What I have gathered from the campaign so far is that the PNP doesn't seem to have really come into their own in terms of traditional advertising yet," said Cain. "They are being outdistanced and outadvertised by the Labour Party thus far, which could, of course, explain why the prime minister is allowing that much time before the election date - so they can play catch up."
The analysts believe that a critical factor behind the JLP's heavy spending has been backing from major players in the private sector.
"The JLP appears to have a fairly inexhaustive campaign coffer.... apart from the ads in the media, the level of activities throughout the country - the mass meetings, the motorcades - do not come cheaply, so I have no doubt that millions of dollars are being spent," said Smith.
"In previous elections, because the JLP was not perceived as having a (strong) team, a lot of business people held back," added Smith. "However, now that the JLP appears to be a winnable entity, it has attracted a tremendous amount of money. The PNP has limited funds and will perhaps seek to spend it more prudently and wisely, while the JLP seems to have the ability to spend much more lavishly."
Sharpe-Pryce agreed: "I am not sure where all of the funding is coming from, but it seems to me as though the private sector in general seems to be supporting the Labour Party."
Cain was more analytical when questioned which political party the majority of the private sector was backing. He said that there has always been a 'waggonist' trend for business people to support the anticipated winner of the elections. He said that most business people had financed both parties simultaneously over the years, giving the higher percentage of their contributions to the perceived winner.
"What has happened in the past is that business and financing of the politics in Jamaica are largely dependent on who is perceived as the winner or who is perceived as appearing to have the advantage," said Cain. "If it appears out there that the business people are supporting the JLP more, then maybe it's because of their effective advertising and the fact that an opinion has been formed that they are the ones who seem to be in the driver's seat and the PNP is playing catch up."
Julian Richardson, Business Observer staff reporter
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
This year's election campaign is shaping up to be the most expensive of all time, as the island's two major political forces - the ruling People's National Party (PNP) and the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) - seem set on winning an intense advertising battle launched by the JLP some weeks ago.
"I would say that if we were able to have the parties reveal their books at the end of this exercise, we would be looking at a very expensive election," said Lloyd B Smith, editor and publisher of the Montego Bay-based Western Mirror newspaper. "Certainly, this will be the mother of all elections in terms of expenditure."
An analysis of the advertising rates of media houses that have been heavily used by political parties so far gives an indication of the hundreds of millions of dollars that have been laid down on the campaign trail.
Full page colour advertisements in the island's two daily newspapers attract a price tag of a little over $81,000, while similar advertisements in the high volume Sunday editions run close to $175,000. In the electronic media, which has so far been the preferred medium by the political parties, a 60-second advertising spot on television during prime time - 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm - can cost anywhere from $34,000 to a high of $65,000.
Generation 2000 (G2K), the group of young professionals that support the JLP, is calculated to have spent well over a million dollars on advertisements in just three days after they placed a full page colour advertisement in the two major newspapers over the weekend and on Monday, and booked heavily rotated advertisements during the news segments on the two major television stations and on radio over last weekend.
Last year, Senator Delano Franklyn, the junior foreign minister, estimated that the next general election could cost the two major political parties and the state approximately $2 billion.
Political analysts contacted by the Business Observer were able to give a definitive estimate of how much will be spent, but agreed that there will be a significant outflow of funds during the next seven weeks, especially by the PNP, which will seek to respond to the JLP's onslaught in past weeks.
"I think there is some amount of cat-and-mouse going on between the political parties. I have a gut feeling that part of the PNP's strategy is to get the JLP to spend off most of its money," said Smith.
His reference was to the fact that the country has another seven weeks until the August 27 elections, the date of which was announced by Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller on Sunday.
"We must not fool ourselves, there are still some very big business interests, both inside and outside of the country, that favour the PNP and I suspect that what we are going to see happening, especially after the holiday period and heading into the peak of the election campaign, is a tremendous amount of PNP activity," added Smith.
One highly placed PNP supporter, who spoke to the Business Observer on condition of anonymity, bolstered Smith's assessment by disclosing that the PNP will spend some $300 million on advertising during the next seven weeks. He said that a significant portion of this cash would be spent on a direct counter-advertisement to the G2K's 'not changing course' commercial which has been airing repeatedly throughout prime time on the electronic media.
"Here on in we have a $300 million budget for the next seven weeks on our side...we are going to bombard the airwaves with the positive change campaign," said the supporter. "Both parties will have to spend a lot of money. I estimate the JLP has already spent $100 million over the last five weeks on advertising."
The Business Observer was unable to get a costing on the motorcades and mass rallies staged by both political parties so far. However, one PNP worker admitted that those activities are "very expensive".
The consensus among the political analysts interviewed by the Business Observer was that the JLP has been the more savvy of the two political parties thus far in terms of their advertisements. Charlene Sharpe Pryce, head of History, Geography and Social Sciences at Northern Caribbean University, said that a major factor behind this has been that the PNP are being outgunned by the JLP's G2K.
"This is probably the first in a long time that we are seeing the youth arm of the Jamaica Labour Party so organised and really having their fingers on the ball," said Sharpe-Pryce. "We are really not getting much out of the PNPYO, and I am figuring that there are some internal disturbances there."
Political historian Troy Cain believes that the 'Not changing course' advertisement has been a very effective arsenal for the opposition party.
The 60-second clip shows Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller repeatedly saying that she's "not changing course", along with other strategically placed soundbites from PNP ministers of Government.
"So far, from all appearances and responses that I have got on the ground is that the JLP's ad campaign has been extremely effective to the point where many people feel its having an effect on the PNP's campaign," said Cain. "I suppose you might see a more intensified advertising campaign by the PNP and consequently more by the JLP, but thus far it appears as if it is a one-man show."
Cain argued that the perceived effectiveness of the JLP campaign, as opposed to the PNP's lukewarm response so far, played a major role in the prime minister's decision to have a seven-week wait period for Jamaicans to go to the polls.
"What I have gathered from the campaign so far is that the PNP doesn't seem to have really come into their own in terms of traditional advertising yet," said Cain. "They are being outdistanced and outadvertised by the Labour Party thus far, which could, of course, explain why the prime minister is allowing that much time before the election date - so they can play catch up."
The analysts believe that a critical factor behind the JLP's heavy spending has been backing from major players in the private sector.
"The JLP appears to have a fairly inexhaustive campaign coffer.... apart from the ads in the media, the level of activities throughout the country - the mass meetings, the motorcades - do not come cheaply, so I have no doubt that millions of dollars are being spent," said Smith.
"In previous elections, because the JLP was not perceived as having a (strong) team, a lot of business people held back," added Smith. "However, now that the JLP appears to be a winnable entity, it has attracted a tremendous amount of money. The PNP has limited funds and will perhaps seek to spend it more prudently and wisely, while the JLP seems to have the ability to spend much more lavishly."
Sharpe-Pryce agreed: "I am not sure where all of the funding is coming from, but it seems to me as though the private sector in general seems to be supporting the Labour Party."
Cain was more analytical when questioned which political party the majority of the private sector was backing. He said that there has always been a 'waggonist' trend for business people to support the anticipated winner of the elections. He said that most business people had financed both parties simultaneously over the years, giving the higher percentage of their contributions to the perceived winner.
"What has happened in the past is that business and financing of the politics in Jamaica are largely dependent on who is perceived as the winner or who is perceived as appearing to have the advantage," said Cain. "If it appears out there that the business people are supporting the JLP more, then maybe it's because of their effective advertising and the fact that an opinion has been formed that they are the ones who seem to be in the driver's seat and the PNP is playing catch up."
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