Dear Candidates: Is There a Strategy Here?

Everyone has probably noticed that it is political season and we are bombarded with messages from several candidates and interest groups.  Every night I get home and grab the mail only to find another 4-5 direct mail pieces.  Last night during the local news I saw three political ads run back to back to back.  On Facebook I not only see ads but I also have to skip over all my “friends” posts that are politically motivated.

As someone who works in the advertising field, I see all of this and question how effective all of these messages are when the landscape is so cluttered.  Is the strategy for each candidate or group to just put out as many messages as possible without any strategic plan?  I wonder if thecandidate who spends the most money on advertising typically wins – a statistic I’m sure lives online somewhere.