In the high-stakes arena of the 2025 federal election, it wasn’t just what parties said—but when, where, and how they said it—that made the difference. New data from Australian video measurement firm Adgile has revealed that while more than $71 million was poured into TV, BVOD and YouTube ads during the campaign, it was Labor’s precision timing and seat-level strategy that delivered the biggest return on investment possible in this forum: government.
The Liberals were outspent, the Greens were drowned out, and Clive Palmer, who topped the charts with a $24 million media blitz (and interest across B&T last week), walked away with zero seats—and a retirement speech to boot.
If one thing is clear, it’s that the one-size-fits-all messaging of previous elections wasn’t going to work in 2025. This wasn’t an election won on volume. It was won on hyper-targeted, data-responsive advertising.
The Big Spenders: Who Spent What, Where
According to exclusive data from Adgile, a total of $71 million was spent on video advertising across the five-week campaign—$54 million of that on TV and BVOD (including 7Plus, 9Now, 10Play, SBS On Demand and Foxtel’s Kayo and Binge), and $17 million on YouTube. But not all spending was created equal.
Trumpet of Patriots
Once again, Clive Palmer led the charge in raw ad spend, blanketing the airwaves and digital screens with aggressive anti-Labor and anti-Greens messaging. His Trumpet of Patriots campaign was high on volume and reach but low on nuance, relying on national saturation rather than geotargeted strategy.
Despite spending $24.1 million, the party failed to win a single seat, and Palmer announced his retirement from politics on election night.
Labor
Labor followed closely with $24 million, running what many insiders are calling the most strategically disciplined campaign of the cycle. From the outset, they invested in consistent, early TV and BVOD spend, with messaging focused on key economic policies, notably tax cuts for working families. Their media buy was spread across the entire five weeks and heavily geotargeted, delivering variant creative to marginal and battleground seats.
Labor also focused on positive, policy-driven ads in the early weeks, switching to rebuttals and contrast messaging only later in the campaign. This tactic gave them clear air during the early pre-poll period, which broke records this election.
“What is interesting is that Labor went big and early on TV and video with policy messaging, such as their tax cuts. They were spending consistently throughout the five weeks of the campaign, especially in the early weeks when they had more clear air,” said Shaun Lohman, Adgile founder and managing director.
“Given the significant pre-poll vote, this has had an impact on last night’s result and represents a strategic change, in terms of the media strategy compared with previous elections.
“This campaign has been different, with geotargeted video ads targeting voters by electorate, and Labor breaking the traditional spending model where parties have historically held back their spend for a final-week advertising blitz.”
Liberal
The Coalition spent slightly less than Labor and Palmer at $20.7 million but made a strategic gamble by holding back the bulk of its spend until the final two weeks – a decision that may have led to the party missing a large portion of the pre-poll audience, who had already cast their votes before the Coalition’s messaging peaked.
The party focused more heavily on attack ads, particularly targeting Labor’s record on immigration, tax, and energy.
Additionally, the Coalition was slower to adopt seat-by-seat addressable advertising, leaning more heavily on broad national creative in the early stages – a choice that led them to not just lose the election, but for leader Peter Dutton to also lose his seat of Dickson.
The Greens & Independents
With significantly tighter budgets, the Greens and various independents took a digital-first approach, investing in YouTube and targeted BVOD to reach specific voter segments for a total collective investment of just over $2 million.
The Greens split their $1.46 million spend evenly between TV and YouTube, focused on climate and housing affordability, with creative tailored to younger, urban audiences.
Independents, especially those aligned with the “teal” movement, were highly tactical—using geographic targeting, policy-specific messaging, and precise digital placement to make limited funds go further.
One Nation
One Nation flew under the radar with a low-profile video presence, favouring hyperlocal YouTube ads and radio buys in Queensland and select regional areas. The party focused on earned media and offline engagement, with negligible spend on BVOD or national TV.
A Shift in Strategy
According to Lohman, 2025 marked a decisive departure from the election campaigns of the past. It wasn’t about blanketing the airwaves—it was about owning the moment, postcode by postcode.
“The sheer scale and precision of geotargeting stood out,” Lohman told B&T. “We saw a shift from broad party messaging to highly localised, seat-by-seat creative.”
Campaigns in 2025 looked more like direct-response ad operations than traditional political communication efforts. According to Lohman, some parties adopted always-on testing cycles, adapting messaging in near real-time based on performance data. That level of agility, he said, “felt more like a performance marketing campaign than a federal election.”
One party that capitalised on this shift was Labor. “Our data shows Labor front-loaded both spend and messaging, especially across marginal electorates and with core policy messaging,” Lohman explained. “Not only did that early investment give them more runway to land their policies, but they dominated the pre-poll window when many votes were cast. It helped them set the agenda, and the Liberals were always playing catch-up”.
In contrast, the Coalition’s decision to delay their spend until the final weeks may have blunted the impact of their messaging. “It was a high-risk strategy,” Lohman said. “With pre-polling now accounting for a large share of votes, late bursts face the challenge of reaching voters who’ve already made up their minds—or voted.”
In fact, Adgile’s pacing data showed that the Coalition’s key policy messaging didn’t really surface until weeks three and four, by which time Labor had already set the agenda.
That agenda-setting advantage mattered, especially in a media environment flooded with content. Lohman noted that geotargeting created significant noise, making it even more important for parties to deliver clear, compelling messages in the right place at the right time.
“Campaign strategy—creative, message and media—is becoming more critical than ever,” he said. “The level of hyper-targeting can create significant noise for the consumer, so advertisers need to be able to cut through”.
The difference in strategic sophistication was evident when comparing Palmer’s Trumpet of Patriots to the major parties. “Blunt-force spending creates noise, but not always cut-through,” Lohman observed. “Palmer dominated in volume but relied on generic messaging broadcast at scale. By contrast, the Coalition and Labor ran more nuanced campaigns with localised content, timed placements, and clearer calls to action.”
The result? Ultimately, smarter spend beat louder spend.
For commercial media buyers, Lohman believes this election offers a key lesson. “Labor did everything right—coherent and synergised messaging built on a solid media platform,” he said. “In the digital age, understanding who’s competing for your audience’s attention, and choosing mediums that guarantee your message lands, is more important than ever.”
Despite the rise of digital, television remained the bedrock of political media spend, accounting for 74% of all video advertising during the campaign. And that’s no accident.
“TV, linear or on-demand, still does what no other platform can: deliver trusted, high-attention impact at national and local scale,” Lohman said. “While digital excels at speed and targeting, it often lacks the engagement and cut-through of premium TV environments”.
Minor parties like the Greens that shifted away from TV were left to compete in noisy, fragmented digital spaces where message retention was much harder to achieve.
“It’s not just about reaching audiences,” Lohman said. “It’s about converting them—and that’s where traditional media still has a major role to play.”
Lessons From a Campaign Won Early
In 2025, Australian voters weren’t waiting until the final week to tune in—and the smartest political strategists knew it. Labor’s front-loaded, geotargeted media approach rewrote the rulebook on election advertising. The Coalition’s delay, and Palmer’s carbet-bomb spending, failed to land meaningful blows.
The big lesson? Spend smarter, speak earlier, and tailor everything. Because in modern campaigning, cut-through isn’t about shouting—it’s about showing up with the right message, in the right place, before anyone else does.
