CA Prop 27 Campaigners Slash TV Ads Following Loss-Predicting Poll

Going forward, residents of the Golden State will see fewer Proposition 27 campaigns on their TVs. This is after leading sportsbooks such as Bally’s, DraftKings, and FanDuel, supporting the ballot measure, decided to change their ad strategy.

The decision by the online sports operators follows the latest poll by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), showing that most California voters would vote ‘no’ on Prop 27. So, instead of spending cash on tv ads, the Yes on 27 campaigners will shift the ad funds towards targeting voters through emails and digital video ads for further direct communication.

Yes on 27 TV Campaigns Are a Casualty of Their Strategy

Prop 27 TV adverts have been running during shows, including Jeopardy!, MLB Dodgers games, and the Bachelorette. Some of the ad strategies they used to get more voters on board were:

• Making a comparison between Prop 27 and Prop 26
• Blaming the wealthier native gaming tribes for trying to hinder small native tribes from succeeding.
• Putting a spotlight on the homeless funding.
• Backing three native tribes in the Garden State

Alas! the tactics used by Prop 27 campaigners did not sit well with voters in the Golden State. The most disastrous effort used by the Yes on 27 campaigners was the labeling of the ballot measure, the “California Solutions to Homelessness and Mental Health Support Act.”

The Executive Director of the Sacramento Housing Alliance, Kendra Lewis, had this to say about the Prop 27 team using homelessness as a tactic to win on the ballot:

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“Prop 27 is a fundamentally flawed measure that will make the homeless crisis worse in California. The fact that Prop 27’s backers are using this very real humanitarian crisis to sell their deceptive online gambling measure is shameful.”

Moreover, Fran Butler-Cohen, the CEO of Family Health Centers of San Diego, a foundation that caters to 27,000 homeless individuals, said:

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“I don’t think there’s anybody in homeless services that actually thinks that we would realize a windfall from this, that we can instantly start building housing units and getting people off the street and getting them into mental health service. I don’t think anybody thinks that.”

 

Paul Boden, the Executive Director of Western Regional Advocacy Project, a homeless support group, said it was in bad taste for Prop 27 to use the homelessness funding in their campaign. Boden further pointed out that the sportsbook corporations already had foundations they could use for charitable causes if they wanted to assist the homeless and mentally ill.

Does the Yes on 27 Move to Divert Funds Mean Surrender?

Numbers from the recent PPIC polls indicated that Prop 27 would receive 34% approval in the November 8 election. However, although the Yes on 27 campaigners have not based their decision to roll back TV ads on the recent polls, Nolan Higdon, a professor of History at CSU East Bay, thinks otherwise.

Higdon believes if a party limits or slashes campaign money, it means they think they will lose and may be trying to cut their losses. Nonetheless, Higdon also acknowledges the advantages of using direct communication methods such as emails and social media to grab voters’ attention. Higdon said in part:

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“Advertising of all sorts is really in a transitional period right now. Folks are cutting the cable, they’re moving away from television, more and more to streaming services, digital platforms, and so maybe the campaign is onto something here that their money will prove more lucrative for them politically, if they use it in the digital spaces versus these traditional or legacy spaces.”

With that in mind, it’s worth noting that the downside of TV ads ranging from 15 to 30 seconds is that there isn’t enough time to convey impactful messages. In comparison, social media ads and emails perform better as they share a lot of information with voters. But then again, the limitation of direct mailing and social media ads is that most people push mail to junk without reading or scrolling over advertisements on social media.

Further, for argument’s sake, it is improbable that the Prop 27 campaign has scaled back from TV ads because of limited funds. The sports betting giants behind the campaign have such deep pockets that they wouldn’t struggle to fund the effort.

A recent statement by Nathan Click, the spokesperson, and strategist for the Yes on 27 campaigns, tried to shed light on why they took a different approach. First, he indicated that the television market is saturated and did not benefit the campaign. Moreover, Click said the Yes on 27 campaigns had suffered from false and misleading TV attacks. Finally, he added that their opponents were spending at least $45 million before being approved for the November ballot.

Effects of the No on 27 Campaign on the Prop 27 Campaign

50+ native tribes pursuing to maintain a stronghold over the California gambling market are spearheading the No on 27 campaigns. Through their spokesperson Kathy Fairbanks they responded to the news of the Prop 27 campaigners changing their advertising tactics with much delight.

Fairbanks noted that adverts failed to sway the voters on TV as they saw through the ‘deception’ of sportsbook corporations in their Yes campaign. Kathy also disclosed that based on polls carried out on behalf of the Californians for Tribal Sovereignty and Safe Gaming, Prop 27 would suffer a devastating loss. Part of her official statement read:

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“This survey confirms what we’ve been seeing for months in our own polling. Despite raising more than $160 million for a deceptive advertising campaign, California voters are clearly not buying what the out-of-state online gambling corporations behind Prop 27 are selling. Voters strongly oppose Prop 27 and its massive expansion of online sports gambling, and they do not believe Prop 27 is a ‘solution’ to anything.”

Massive Potential for Sports Betting in The Garden State

California boasts the largest population in the US. Therefore, it presents a massive market for sports betting. If Prop 26, which is expected to legalize sports betting at tribal casinos and racetracks in California, passes, it will likely generate tens of millions for the state.

On the other hand, if Prop 27, which aims at legalizing online sports betting, is legalized, it has the potential to raise hundreds of millions for the state. It will be interesting to see whether the change in campaign tactics for sportsbook corporations will work in their favor next month.