BJP Ups Its Social Media Game Ahead Of 2024 Elections, Ropes In Top Ad Agencies

You must have come across our nation’s ruling party’s social media accounts for sure if you’re as addicted to the apps as we are. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wish to speak the language of the youth to put forth their ideas and reach out to the majority of the population. Thus to resonate with the younger generation, their social media has adopted a very creative and fresh approach.

With the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections approaching, the party wants to bank on the power of the Internet as effectively as possible. The BJP has chosen the Prasoon Joshi-led McCann Worldgroup and Scarecrow M&C Saatchi as the ad agencies to spearhead its creative advertising account. The creative mandate is expected to be managed by the latter along with TAG, a new-age ad agency owned by McCann.

Don’t Miss!!! Social Nation is hosting Asia’s Largest Creator Festival on the 20th & 21st of April at Jio World Garden, Mumbai. Book your tickets here.

On winning the mega mandate, Prasoon Joshi said he is looking forward to the challenge and to working with the great minds of the Party. “The intent of BJP is to be the party that has everyone involved,” he added. The above two agencies landed the ruling party’s coveted account after competing with over a dozen agencies.

Among the contenders were reputed agencies such as Ogilvy and Efficacy who pitched for the account as well. However, it remains unclear whether the BJP will engage them for other media responsibilities as part of their extensive communication strategy.

Also Read: The Joe Biden TikTok Paradox: A Confusion of Political Ironies

A Look Back

In the previous General Elections of 2019, the Party had enlisted the services of Dentsu India, Madison World, Ogilvy India, and Soho Square to manage its campaigns. The BJP and Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi‘s campaign during the 2014 General Elections resulted in a remarkable victory for the party. It was crafted by Ogilvy’s Soho Square under the leadership of the legendary adman Piyush Pandey.

The Expectations From Agencies

The BJP is currently in the process of selecting 3-4 independent agencies specialised in data-led technology and digital advertising. The Party also requires their expertise for regional, outdoor, influencer-led campaigns, and social media, according to the executives. In addition, a significant portion of the party’s communication is already being handled by its robust internal teams.

Elections & Political Ad Spends

With the Election Commission of India announcing the commencement of elections from April 19th in seven phases spanning over 6 weeks until June 1st, the BJP is swiftly finalizing its strategy. Vote counting is set to occur on June 4. Meanwhile, the race for political advertising dominance is heating up as polling dates draw near.

Google and Meta have witnessed a significant surge in ad spends with the latest Google Ads. According to data from the Google Ads Transparency Centre, between January 1, 2024, and March 19, 2024, a total of Rs 101.28 crore has been spent on political ads. The BJP allocated nearly Rs 31 crore for Google ad campaigns ahead of the upcoming general elections.

In addition to Google Ads, the Meta Ad Library also showed that the ruling party has been the highest spender over the past 90 days. They have spent Rs 6.06 crore across 1198 ads focusing on social issues, elections, or political campaigns. Affiliate pages such as ‘Phir Ekbar Modi Sarkar’ have also been high spenders. Between December 17, 2023, and March 15, 2024, they spent Rs 1.9 crore on 2570 ads.

Roping in agencies like McCann Worldgroup and Scarecrow M&C Saatchi is part of the extensive outreach efforts planned by the Bhartiya Janata Party to attract voters. We look forward to watching the influx of creative content on the BJP’s social media pages in the coming weeks.