Case Study: Smart Media Group achieves $1B political ad-spend analysis and faster reporting with Tableau Software

Smart Media Group analyzes $1B in political ad spend

Smart Media Group is a political media-buying firm that plans and places television ads for campaigns and issue groups. Facing a fragmented mess of spreadsheets that made it impossible to see the big picture or monitor competitor activity, the team needed a way to centralize data, deliver fast insights during around‑the‑clock campaign cycles, and give clients interactive access to reports.

By adopting Tableau and Tableau Server they consolidated disparate data into reusable dashboards with minimal IT support. The firm used the platform to track more than $1 billion in 2012 ad spending, cut report turnaround to under 24 hours, save hours of manual formatting, and surface strategic insights (for example, the differing roles of issue groups versus campaign spending for Obama and Romney). Clients now log in 24/7 to explore dashboards and make faster media‑buy decisions.

Smart Media Group

Sarah Stone

Research Analyst