Create and Compare Linear TV, Streaming TV, and Digital Media Plans All in One Place
We are excited to share that we’ve created new technology called the Media Buying Tool! Check it out at MediaBuyingTool.com.
What does it do? This video explains:
Back when we launched COMPETE at the beginning of 2019, the distinction between TV and Digital was much clearer than it is now. Over the past 7 years, the media landscape has shifted dramatically, and the lines between the two have blurred. Streaming TV ads have emerged as something of a “hybrid” between traditional TV and Digital – they look like TV ads, but are bought and sold like Digital ads. Meanwhile, Digital ads have become more motion-based – they look more like TV ads than they did last decade. And, of course, Broadcast and Cable TV haven’t gone anywhere. They may have given up a good chunk of eyeball time to Streaming TV and Digital, but they remain essential mediums for winning competitive elections.
This blending of media creates opportunity – campaigns can run more holistic, integrated programs – but also creates many challenges. How do you compare the efficiency and impact of these different kinds of media against each other? And how can you stay on top of the rapid changes in consumption – not to mention the optimal way to deliver that media to target audiences – without having to be an expert at both Linear TV buying and Digital-style Programmatic ad auctions?
We’ve built the Media Buying Tool to try to answer these questions. We want the broader democratic ecosystem to be able to springboard off of our data and expertise so they can better understand and navigate the fractured media landscape to win elections. The tool does this in 3 basic ways:
- It creates a framework for comparing Linear TV, Streaming TV, and Digital ads directly against each other, including a new “Holistic” Gross Rating Point that updates the Classic Gross Rating Point formula for our modern times.
- It quickly forecasts pricing and budgets for integrated media campaigns, customized for DMA, target audience size, and other campaign details, like audience ethnicity and whether you will pay the Lowest Unit Rate.
- It pulls together lots of data that is useful for decision makers to evaluate, but is often scattered in many different places – such as DMA cable penetration rate, projected YouTube CPM + reach, and DMA registered voter partisanship.
One of the most important goals we have for the Media Buying Tool is that it is seen as an objective evaluator of the different kinds of media. We tried to build it so it has no agenda, and doesn’t put any spin on the ball, on the question of how your campaign should split investments between Linear TV, Streaming TV, and Digital. That’s why we built it through deep collaboration with
- a team of Linear buyers that have bought billions of dollars of television ads in hundreds of campaigns across the country, and
- seasoned political experts possessing decades of experience running every kind of political campaign under the sun.
Although COMPETE did a lot of heavy lifting on the development of the tool, our fellow collaborators were involved in every step of its creation, from the tool’s originating idea of “Can we make a Digital Gross Rating Point?” to what the Media Buying Tool is now.
We also acknowledge that reasonable people might have a different take on some of the assumptions we made to build the tool (such as the relative “Spot Value” or the “Saturation Rate” of the different kinds of media). That’s why we built in the ability for users to customize many of these assumptions and make their “instance” of the tool their own, including the ability to fully rebrand it if they want to share its insights directly with their clients.
I am itching to share more in this announcement – What the “Holistic” Gross Rating Point is, how we created Digital and Streaming TV Gross Rating Points, how we compiled the massive amount of data that powers the tool – but will restrain myself for now 😁. A few final notes:
- We’re throwing a big fancy party in D.C. to celebrate the launch! If you would like to join us and see the tool’s full capabilities, here is the RSVP link:
MediaBuyingTool.com/LaunchParty
When: Wednesday, September 17, 2025 | 6–9 PM
Where: Amazonia, the rooftop bar of Causa (920 Blagden Alley NW, Washington, DC)
- The version you can test out at MediaBuyingTool.com is limited. If you are interested in a demonstration of its full capabilities, or in trying it out for yourself, please reach out to me or to Hello@MediaBuyingTool.com.
- We consider this version a “Beta” product – we have a bunch of additional improvements already planned, and are also hoping to incorporate feedback from folks who start using it. We plan on rolling out the “Final” version in early 2026.
- This initial version of the tool makes data available on the 121 most populated DMAs. We’ll have all 210 DMAs in the tool early next year, and we also plan on updating all of the data quarterly to ensure it is as accurate as possible.
- If you’re wondering, “What will it cost for me to get to use this?” – we are going to offer it to partners and clients in 3 different ways:
- If you commit to making COMPETE your “Primary” Digital and Streaming TV buyer, you get it for free! It’s a value-add for folks who use us consistently.
- If you aren’t able to commit to that, or would rather not, we are also going to make it available through a subscription, with different tiers based on the size of your company/entity.
- If you don’t want to make us your “Primary” Digital and Streaming TV buyer, but you can commit a substantial amount of media budget to run through us, you can also get access to the tool for free. We plan on negotiating this option on a case-by-case basis
Thanks for reading! Our side of the fight faces many daunting challenges right now. I hope you find that the Media Buying Tool makes the challenge of deciding how to spend money to win elections a bit easier to grapple with.
Zach Mandelblatt
President
Zach@CompeteEverywhere.com