One year on Get involved →

Who’s winning without ads?

One year after political ads
were switched off in Europe.

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Sam Lockwood
Sam Lockwood
Founder, Brand Response

Hi, I’m Sam.

A year ago Meta and Google switched off political and social-issue ads across the EU. Campaigns didn’t stop campaigning. They found other ways, and most of what they learned hasn’t been written down.

I’m writing an article about it, and I’d love to hear from the people doing the work: parties, NGOs, movements, institutions, organisers. In the UK too, where issue-based ads are increasingly restricted and the question is the same: what works when you can’t just pay for reach?

A short call or a quick email. Off the record unless you say otherwise, and no figures needed. I’ll share the results with everyone who contributes.

Sam

Some of the organisations we’ve worked with

30

What I’m asking

01 What’s working for you now?
02 Where did the budget go?
03 How do you find new supporters now? Ads were a big source of new supporters. What’s filling the gap?
04 Who do you think is winning, and how?

Maybe it went into…

Micro-influencers/Creators/Community organising/Door-knocking/Events/Town halls/WhatsApp groups/Telegram channels/Email/SMS/Newsletters/Podcasts/Earned media/Partnerships/Unions/Faith groups/Local radio/Direct mail/Posters/Merch/Relational organising/Volunteer networks/Live streams/Memes/AI-made content/Chatbots & agents/Search/Connected TV/Programmatic/Petitions/Owned lists/

Tell me what you’ve seen.

Email Sam ↗