HYDERABAD: Why would the 2020 US Presidential candidate invest highly on Facebook ads in Telangana? While one would think that the highest amount paid for advertising on Facebook in Telangana would be by some person or organisation with political interests in the region, but surprisingly the highest paid ads in the last 90 days in the region came from US-based organisation Bloomberg Philanthropies, owned by Mike Bloomberg, Founder and CEO of Bloomberg.
It has generally been the case whether in Maharashtra, Haryana or West Bengal, where Shiv Sena, BJP and Trinamool Congress respectively have been spending the most on advertisements on social media.
According to Facebook Ad Library Report, Bloomberg Philanthropies spent Rs 3.96 lakh for ads in the region on Facebook between September 27-December 25, which is four times higher than the money spent by the State government for promotion of Facebook page ‘Telangana CMO’, which posts updates on the initiatives by the State government.
As per the report, in the same period around Rs 90,000 was spent for the promotion of Telangana CMO page, by the State government. It is important to note that Mike Bloomberg has announced that he would enter the race as Democractic Presidential candidate in the upcoming US elections. Since then he has spent $100 million on advertising as per various international media reports.
But what exactly is the content that Bloomberg Philanthropies has been advertising that needed such a huge amount of capital influx?
It is the discussion that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had with Mike Bloomberg back in September at the third Bloomberg Global Business Forum. The caption of the advertisements on Facebook reads, “PM Narendra Modi has charted an ambitious agenda to unlock India’s growth potential”. A look into the advertisement analytics available on Facebook shows that these ads other than Telangana, were also shown in Delhi, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
Others who spend the most on FB
Apart from Bloomberg Philanthropies and Telangana CMO, the other top spenders in this region are AP MLA Rajini Vidadala and TRS Huzurnagar MLA Sanampudi Saidi Reddy.