Political campaigns are increasingly adapting advertising creative to the vertical-video environment, but simply publishing short-form content does not guarantee broader audience reach. That is the argument from political media strategist Kevin Singer, whose latest discussion examines how algorithms, mobile-first video and artificial intelligence are changing campaign advertising ahead of the 2026 U.S. midterm elections.
The smartphone has become another battleground for political advertising, but the mechanics of reaching an audience on a vertical-video platform are different from producing a traditional television commercial.
That is the central theme of a new episode of The Vertical Buzz, in which host Buzz Leer speaks with political media strategist Kevin Singer about the changing role of short-form video, social algorithms and AI in campaign communications.
Singer, who previously managed U.S. public affairs media at Meta, argues that campaigns should not assume that organic vertical content will automatically reach people who are not already interested in politics. His point is that recommendation systems can shape who encounters campaign content, making paid distribution and creative strategy important parts of the equation.
The observation comes as short-form video has become a mainstream media format. Statista Consumer Insights reported in July that 62% of U.S. adults surveyed said short-form video was among their preferred content formats, ahead of both text and long-form video.
That audience behavior has obvious implications for advertisers, including political campaigns. But the commercial advertising ecosystem is considerably larger than organic creator distribution.
EMARKETER forecasts that U.S. political advertising will exceed $11 billion in 2026, with television still accounting for the largest share while digital channels continue gaining ground. Its research also identifies social video as an important part of the broader digital advertising market.
Singer’s advice focuses heavily on creative compression. He says the opening seconds of a vertical political ad need to establish both an attention-grabbing hook and useful information about the candidate. In a feed where users can immediately move to another video, the creative has little time to establish relevance.
That is a familiar problem for mobile advertisers, but political campaigns face an additional constraint: the creative has to communicate identity, message and context without the longer setup traditionally available in television advertising.
The distinction between organic and paid distribution is also important at the platform level. TikTok, for example, currently permits political content to be posted organically under its community rules but does not allow paid political advertising, with limited provisions for certain government and election-related entities.
Meta takes a different approach. For the 2026 U.S. election cycle, the company says political and social-issue advertisers must complete authorization requirements, use disclaimers and have their ads stored in its Ad Library. Meta also requires certain disclosures when AI is used to create or modify political advertising.
AI is becoming another layer of the workflow.
Campaign organizations can use AI-assisted tools to accelerate editing, transcription and content production. At the same time, synthetic media creates a verification problem for advertisers and platforms: audiences increasingly need to distinguish between authentic footage, edited material and fully generated content.
That tension is already visible beyond the U.S. In 2026 political campaigns and organizations in several markets have used AI-generated or AI-assisted video, prompting platforms and regulators to strengthen transparency measures.
For advertising teams, the development points to a broader shift. Vertical video is no longer simply a creative format that can be repurposed from television. It has its own production requirements, distribution mechanics, audience signals and measurement challenges.
Singer expects techniques developed during the 2028 presidential cycle to eventually influence local campaigns. Whether that prediction materializes remains to be seen, but the underlying advertising trend is already visible: campaign media is increasingly being designed for the feed rather than adapted to it afterward.
Market Landscape
Short-form video sits at the intersection of social advertising, mobile video, creator media and algorithmic recommendation systems.
The advertising environment is also becoming more fragmented. Meta supports political advertising with verification and transparency requirements, while TikTok prohibits paid political advertising. Google maintains separate political-content requirements that vary by market, including advertiser verification and disclosure rules in applicable regions.
For campaigns and their media agencies, that means a single vertical-video strategy cannot necessarily be deployed identically across every platform. Creative specifications, political-ad eligibility, targeting rules, disclosure requirements and measurement systems can differ significantly.
AI adds another operational consideration. Faster production can allow campaigns to create more variations and respond more quickly to events, but increased content volume also makes provenance, disclosure and brand or campaign governance more important.
Top Insights
- Vertical video is becoming a significant political advertising format, but distribution, platform rules and creative design determine whether campaigns can translate content into measurable reach.
- Short-form video already has broad U.S. consumer adoption, with Statista reporting 62% of surveyed adults prefer the format, extending well beyond younger audiences.
- Platform policies create different political advertising environments, with Meta permitting political ads under transparency rules while TikTok prohibits paid political advertising.
- AI can accelerate campaign video production, but synthetic-media disclosure and authenticity concerns introduce additional technology and governance requirements.
- Political media teams increasingly need advertising and content capabilities together, combining creative production, paid distribution, platform compliance and performance measurement.
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