The presidential election might be over, but the midterms are only a year away. (Are you exhausted yet?)
With that in mind, two companies are teaming up to optimize political advertising. National Media Insights, known for its research and data on political campaign spend, is partnering with Kinetiq, an AI platform that provides real-time TV ad detection and attribution data. The idea is that combining political ad spend data with information on when ads run and how much impact they have creates a powerful solution.
Together, they’re offering a unified product called Kinetiq Political Insights—or KPI for short.
The new offering seems mostly aimed at National Media Insights clients, who already have access to research and campaign spend data. Now, they’ll also get expanded capabilities, including information on when and where an ad aired, the actual video creative, and tools to track ad performance the moment it runs, and beyond.
Why This Matters:
The presidential election saw record spending—up to $11 billion, according to some estimates—and the upcoming midterms are expected to draw billions more. With high stakes and intense competition, this could be another record-breaking election cycle.
As more money pours in, campaigns are demanding better data and insights in return. That’s exactly what KPI aims to deliver: a centralized view of where political ads are running, how often, and what kind of impact they’re having—helping strategists make faster, smarter decisions. Or at least that’s the goal.
According to the launch release, KPI is really for political advertisers and agencies, but it’s also used by public affairs groups and media organizations.
Experts React:
Here’s what Kevin Kohn, President & CEO of Kinetiq, had to say via the launch release: “Partnering with National Media Insights to bring our advanced ad detection technology to the political advertising industry was a natural fit.”
Meanwhile, Michael O’Brien, CEO of National Media Research, Planning & Placement, says, “With KPI, we will offer our clients cutting-edge technology to capture real-time ad exposures and spend data across linear and connected TV, providing deeper campaign intelligence and enabling faster, smarter political advertising strategies.”
Our Take:
Measurement is core to TV advertising—political or otherwise—in 2025. (As a trend, it’s right alongside expanded programmatic access.) We saw that earlier today with the latest MRC accreditation for Comscore. To keep ad dollars flowing, both baseline spend data and deeper attribution insights are essential.
