Proposed Media Plan
Adam Steen for Governor — $500,000 Optimized Plan
This document outlines a complete paid media strategy for the final 16 days before the June 3 Republican primary. It covers where the $500,000 budget is allocated, how each channel works together, and why this specific mix is the strongest path to winning a five-way race. Use the navigation above to jump to any section.
Section 01
Plan Overview
Total budget of $500,000, distributed across five channels and structured around a 250,000-voter likely Republican primary universe. This is an optimized version of the original plan — it shifts dollars away from diminishing broadcast returns and into streaming video and direct voter-contact channels where likely GOP primary voters are actually spending their time.
Section 02
Why This Mix Wins a Five-Way Race
The strategic question is not whether broadcast still matters — it does. The real question is how much broadcast is necessary before the next incremental dollar works harder somewhere else. Once a campaign has enough television to establish legitimacy, additional dollars often produce more votes when spent in channels that can repeatedly reach the exact households most likely to determine the outcome.
Broadcast still matters, but not at 55 percent
Television remains the fastest way to make Adam Steen look like a top-tier gubernatorial contender in a five-way race. Even after the reduction, the plan carries roughly 493 TV spots — enough to establish biography, values, and seriousness without the risk of appearing as a digital-only candidate.
OTT/CTV now matches how voters actually consume video
Streaming TV accounts for 56 percent of time spent viewing, and 69 percent of U.S. homes use streaming exclusively. Raising OTT/CTV to $95,000 grows projected impressions to 3.8M impressions — lifting frequency from 7.2x to 15.2x per voter and turning OTT from a follow-up channel into a true persuasion medium.
Radio and social do the glue work
Radio at $50,000 reinforces the TV and OTT message during commutes through 400 spots and 1.78 million streaming audio impressions. Social at $65,000 is the rapid-response and retargeting layer — reintroducing biography, amplifying issue contrast, and chasing high-engagement audiences with persuasion and turnout creative.
SMS remains the turnout closer
Direct SMS at $65,000 keeps Peerly as the campaign's most direct mobilization tool: peer-to-peer texting with personalization, click tracking, local caller IDs, and large-scale operations. As broadcast trims slightly, the back-end turnout system stays fully intact so supporters are not just persuaded but reminded, identified, and pushed to vote.
Section 03
What Changed
The chart below compares five key performance metrics between the original plan and the revised one. Longer bars to the right are better. TV and radio spots decreased slightly — but that reduction funded a dramatic increase in streaming video reach and the frequency at which likely voters encounter the campaign's message.
Section 04
Spend by Market
Iowa has five distinct media markets, and this plan funds all five. Budget is allocated proportionally by the size of each market's likely Republican primary voter universe — the more high-propensity GOP voters a market contains, the more it receives across every channel.
| Market | Broadcast TV | Radio | OTT/CTV | Social Media | Direct SMS | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Des Moines | $90,000 | $19,000 | $33,250 | $26,000 | $26,000 | $194,250 |
| Cedar Rapids | $49,500 | $11,000 | $23,750 | $15,600 | $15,600 | $115,450 |
| Davenport / Quad Cities | $40,500 | $9,000 | $19,000 | $11,700 | $11,700 | $91,900 |
| Sioux City | $22,500 | $6,000 | $9,500 | $6,500 | $6,500 | $51,000 |
| Omaha (spill) | $22,500 | $5,000 | $9,500 | $5,200 | $5,200 | $47,400 |
| Total | $225,000 | $50,000 | $95,000 | $65,000 | $65,000 | $500,000 |
Section 05
Daily Flight Plan
The 16-day plan runs from May 18 through June 2 — the day before the primary. It is structured in three escalating phases: build awareness early, increase pressure mid-flight, then convert supporters into actual votes in the final 48 hours through direct contact.
Section 06
Bottom Line
A five-way primary rewards the campaign that combines credibility with concentrated repetition. This plan preserves enough broadcast to make Adam Steen look viable statewide, nearly doubles OTT to deliver targeted video at winning frequency, keeps radio and social intact across daily routines and devices, and preserves Peerly texting as the turnout conversion layer at the end of the funnel. Adam Steen looks like a governor — and likely GOP voters keep seeing him exactly where they actually watch video.
- It preserves enough broadcast to make Steen look viable statewide. 493 TV spots is still a serious television presence. Voters and political observers will see him on television. He does not look like a digital-only or fringe candidate.
- It nearly doubles OTT so the campaign can deliver targeted video at winning frequency. The jump from 1.8M to 3.8M impressions — and from 7.2x to 15.2x voter frequency — crosses the threshold where repeated exposure actually moves opinion. This is where the race is won among persuadable GOP primary voters.
- It keeps radio and social intact so the message shows up across daily routines and devices. 400 radio spots and 1.78M streaming audio impressions reinforce the TV message during commutes. Social media extends the campaign's reach into the feeds of high-engagement Republican households and handles rapid response as the race tightens.
- It preserves Peerly texting as the turnout conversion layer. Persuading a voter to support Steen is only half the job. Peerly's peer-to-peer texting platform — with personalization, click tracking, and local caller IDs — makes sure identified supporters are reminded, mobilized, and pushed to vote. The turnout operation stays fully intact.
- It aligns budget with how likely primary voters actually consume media. Streaming accounts for 56% of viewing time. 69% of U.S. homes now use streaming-only TV. Spending as if it is 2018 and linear TV dominates is a strategic error. This plan reflects where the audience actually is in 2025.