Advertising Strategies Neilson Monitor-Plus and the University of Wisconsin Advertising Project have produced an interesting study of current campaign advertising patterns (PDF) by Bush and Kerry that offers insight into the strategy employed by both campaigns. For starters, both campaigns seem to identify Missouri and Ohio as the two most important states in this election. This confirms the finding of an earlier study that listed Iowa, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin as the top four states in terms of advertising per electoral vote. Second, the Bush campaign has spread its resources out evenly across markets, while the Kerry campaign has concentrated its advertising in major media markets, particularly in major media markets in swing states. This has led to significant Kerry advantages in all major markets in Florida, Ohio, Missouri and Nevada, with the exception of the Miami market where Bush leads. Here are two keys tables from the study: Top 10 Markets for Bush Kerry 1. Burlington-Plattsburg (into NH) Toledo, OH 2. Detriot, MI Dayton, OH 3. Souix City, IA St. Louis, MO 4. Kansas City, MO Columbus, OH 5. Green Bay-Appleton, WI Kansas City, MO 6. Erie, PA Portland, OR 7. Wilkes-Barre-Scranton, PA Cleveland, OH 8. Preque Isle, ME Las Vegas, NV 9. Dayton, OH Erie, PA 10. Lansing, MI Reno, NV Overall here, I would like to be Kerry, since his ads seem to be reaching more people. Then again, are they reaching more swingers? Nevada has been heavily targeted by Kerry, while Michigan has been heavily targeted by Bush. Also, Bush is clearly worried about losing NH, while Kerry is clearly worried about losing Oregon. There are many more insights that I did not mention, and the entire study is worth a read. Check it out.