Donald Trump has earned nearly $2 billion worth of free press so far in the 2016 GOP primary, easily outstripping every other candidate who has shelled out enormous sums of money for television advertising, according to data compiled by mediaQuant.
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Trump’s earned media — that is, news mentions in print, on television and online — is “about twice the all-in price of the most expensive presidential campaigns in history,” The New York Times’ Nick Confessore and Karen Yourish reported.
“It is also twice the estimated $746 million that Hillary Clinton, the next best at earning media, took in. Senator Bernie Sanders has earned more media than any of the Republicans except Mr. Trump,” they added.
To put Trump’s numbers in perspective, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., had about $400 million in earned media for the whole of his 2008 presidential campaign.
The data comes from mediaQuant, which tracks the press’ coverage of each candidate and calculates how much that sort of time on television would cost in advertising rates.
“The mentions are weighted by the reach of the media source, meaning how many people were likely to see it. The calculation also includes traditional media of all types, print, broadcast or otherwise, as well as online-only sources like Facebook, Twitter or Reddit,” the Times explained further.
The takeaway from reviewing the firm’s data: Trump is really, really good at the earned media game.
“He is way better than any of the other candidates,” the Times noted, “maybe than any candidate ever.”
Much of the coverage, however, has been negative. But this likely matters very little to the candidate who once wrote, “even a critical story, which may be hurtful personally, can be very valuable to your business.”
“One thing I’ve learned about the press is that they’re always hungry for a good story, and the more sensational the better. It’s in the nature of the job, and I understand that,” Trump wrote in 1987.
“The point is that if you are a little different, or a little outrageous, or if you do things that are bold or controversial, the press is going to write about you. I’ve always done things a little differently, I don’t mind controversy, and my deals tend to be somewhat ambitious,” he added. “The result is that the press has always wanted to write about me.”
It’s a strategy that Trump seems to have deployed to great effect in 2016.
As a result of the real estate mogul’s success at roping in mountains of free press, he has skated through the 2016 GOP primary without having to pay out the big bucks normally associated with presidential campaigns and television advertising.
A breakdown of 2016 presidential ad spending by SMG Delta, which tracks TV advertising, shows that the boisterous billionaire has spent less on commercial spots than all of the other candidates, including Ohio Gov. John Kasich, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Clinton.
