Advertisers are willing to spend more money if they know that the president is watching.
It is reasonable to believe President Trump watches television. For instance, The Hill reports Donald Trump tweeted that people who burn flags should be punished following a Fox News report on Flag burning. Moreover, after a Fox News report that called Chelsea Manning an “ungrateful traitor,” Trump later tweeted: “Ungrateful TRAITOR Chelsea Manning…is now calling President Obama a weak leader.”
Apparently, advertising companies are paying close attention. Advertisement rates for Morning Joe on MSNBC have increased by over 200% since Trump won the election, according to Politico. Also, ads for shows on Fox News rose by 50 %.
“The president’s media habits are so predictable, advertisers migrate to those areas,” one ad buyer told Politico. A source close the news organization explained that instead of going through traditional means to connect with the President, businesses including a pharmaceutical company and a major bank, are buying ads on the O’Reilly show and Morning Joe because they believe they could reach the President.
Mostly, business, organizations, and individuals are using advertisements during shows they assume Donald Trump is watching in hopes they can influence the President into thinking about a particular issue or more importantly go on Twitter and tweet to his millions of followers.
This news comes after a report found that a single tweet by President Trump can hurt a brand’s reputation, according to a CNBC report. Social intelligence firm Brandwatch explained Boeing had overwhelming positive mentions on Twitter. However, after Donald Trump tweeted, “Boeing is building a brand new 747 Air Force One for future presidents, but costs are out of control, more than $4 billion. Cancel order!”, The number of negative tweets about Boeing skyrocketed. The day after the tweet, only 32% of the company’s mentions were positive, according to Brandwatch. The same phenomenon occurred with General Motors, Ford, and Carrier.