• by Drew Hilles , September 22, 2011

Finding the perfect hyperlocal advertising formula has been a challenge for all types of media. Today, everyone is trying to crack the code -- whether online or offline -- to unlock the next wave of advertising dollars.

Online media, with its built-in accountability and seemingly endless inventory, appears to have an advantage over traditional media formats in this quest. However, as offline media continues to digitize itself, we shouldn't count out local radio and television, which may have an advantage, given their ability to spread a message unobtrusively and on an advanced local level.

Advertisers are actively looking to reduce waste in their marketing budgets. They want to get to the most relevant audiences as quickly as possible. Previously, a music store owner might have run a commercial for guitars on a rock-and-roll radio station, now that same advertiser might send out a coupon code through an opt-in e-newsletter while posting a note on Facebook to 400 followers. It may seem fragmented, but it's a pretty powerful way to drive specific local results.

Eventually every form of media will be "always on" and it will be less about building a campaign around one product versus giving consumers what they want to see/hear. In the future, when the relevant buyers and impressions are there, the ads will be queued up and ready to go.

Offline media is well-suited for always on targeted advertising. It excels in its relevant content and very powerful, localized brand in every market in the U.S. Local radio and television stations are woven into and connected to the fabric of the community, due to decades of relationships built with local audiences and advertisers.

Both local radio and TV have a great way of personalizing the broadcast. Whether it's a favorite DJ or reliable newscaster, broadcast is able to emotionally engage with the consumer on a different level than online media.

In a perfect world, while consumers are listening to their favorite morning drive hosts or watching their friendly evening news anchors, they'd be able to self-select ad categories of interest. More and more, we are able to customize the world around us. If that was the case for broadcast media, consumers would permit ad serving with what is most important and relevant to them.

Unfortunately, broadcast audiences are still fragmented. Self-serve is still a few years away until traditional media technology catches up and everyone begins consuming everything online, including streaming radio and TV.

What's our next step? Broadcasters will need to learn more about their audiences in order to find out what is most relevant to them. Ad technology will need to grow more robust so that marketing messages will be desirable --- imagine the day when a broadcast outlet knows that a consumer plans to buy a car in the next three months -- and serves up relevant auto commercials when they watch the 6 p.m. news at 1 a.m. after a long day at work.

It's local offline media -- radio and TV -- with their strong connection to audiences and the relationships with advertisers that can emerge as winners in the hyperlocal advertising arena. With time and technology, they may be able to find the right combination to crack the code and co-exist with online media.