We’re deep into the election season, with national, state, and local candidates all vying for attention across both broadcast and streaming services. It’s hard to turn on a device without being bombarded by political advertising. And what you’re likely to notice when you pay attention to those ads is how targeted they are to you. Not just the ads for your local congressperson, but also the ads for national candidates. Are you reading this in Iowa? Then, says Ann Hailer, president of broadcast for Locality, a provider of local advertising services, chances are the ad you’re seeing is focused on farm subsidies. In Michigan? Then maybe the focus is on manufacturing. In Texas? Immigration. “Using those 30 seconds to make sure the ad is resonating to what matters to the community is really the point of political advertising,” says Hailer.

A key focus in political advertising, Hailer adds, is stressing the importance of getting out the vote, regardless of “political persuasion.” In this case, she says, both broadcast and streaming have shown they have critical strengths: “While broadcast and political advertising clearly work hand in hand, the data that’s behind each of these voter segments and the issues that matter to the voters has also allowed streaming to emerge as a critical part of political advertising.” The result, she says, “is that there is an almost emotional connection on the broadcast level,” which is then complemented by “those very personalized, very targeted messages that happen on the streaming side.”

But it’s not just political advertising that’s now infused with local flavor. Increasingly, says Hailer, the range of available data and the ability to leverage it across platforms have made it possible for all types of advertisers to “look at the granular details of viewer habits,” incorporating behavioral, contextual, and demographic insights to understand “what the local preferences are and what the consumer behavior patterns are.”

Advertising’s White Space

The localization of advertising, Hailer believes, illuminates several critical needs for both consumers and advertisers. Consumers “are looking for messaging to mean more to them,” she says, “and the advertiser knows that and is demanding that those messages get more ROI and lift for their spend.”

Key to this is understanding that, as Hailer puts it, “all purchases are, and have always been, local.” The difference today is that there is now “the opportunity to dig into consumer behavior, to look at the competitive landscape, and to target very specific audiences for potential advertisers.” The ability to localize ads, Hailer suggests, “is the true ‘white space’ in advertising right now.”

Filling that white space doesn’t just mean advertising in local markets, Hailer stresses. “It’s understanding that the messaging in Cincinnati is vastly different from the messaging in Seattle or the messaging in New York City.” As a result, “the execution of local advertising has to involve deploying ads across all the relevant broadcast and streaming services with continuous optimization, continuous measurement, continuous understanding of the competitive set in that marketplace. You’re constantly tailoring it.”

Achieving a Blend

This need to continuously tailor both ads and platforms is particularly true for sports advertising—especially in an era where streaming is becoming a more significant force. “This is absolutely requiring a masterful blend across broadcast and streaming to achieve eyeballs where they are,” says Hailer. “Sports has become so fragmented in terms of where and how people are consuming sporting events.”

It's also true for other services that are inherently local, such as local law firms, local retailers, or local arts centers.

In those cases, Hailer says, while “the potential customer base might be smaller, the methodology’s the same. You need to figure out: Why are you using broadcast? Why are you using streaming? What other mediums are available to you—such as newspapers, email, and search marketing? What are the outcomes you’re expecting from each of them? And what’s your competitive set?” As an example, she points out that while a store like Walmart might be found in every market, in Detroit, it’s competing with Meijer, and in the South, Kroger has expanded its consumer brands to compete with them.

The Consultative Approach

If it seems more complicated than it used to be, that’s because it is. Which is why, in working with its clients, Locality generally takes a consultative approach, helping brands understand—after leveraging data and analyzing the targeted DMAs—where the gaps are in their campaigns. Locality can then help fill these gaps by working with its clients to develop an optimized recommendation through which to achieve whatever KPIs the brand is looking to achieve.

Sometimes, this also means making adjustments to creative executions. Part of tailoring the plan, Hailer says, is “tailoring your message on the creative side.” Sometimes it’s just an ad tech solution that allows that brand to add some localized messaging, such as store location or incentives. Other times it’s a more comprehensive creative reimagining, a service Locality often provides to its clients through a product called VideoNow.

However, switching to a local mindset isn’t necessarily something that all parties involved in selling local advertising understand instinctively. To counter that, Locality runs seminars and even boot camps for both its internal sellers and the firm’s partners to, as Hailer describes it, “equip salespeople with a deep understanding of why local matters and all the local advertising strategies that are out there.” Hailer stresses that “we all have gaps. We all have things we need to learn and understand, and the beauty of our training is that we bring cross-discipline to that training so that you’re able to capture where your own personal gaps might be—especially in terms of understanding the cross-platform approach.”

Coming Up in Future Blog Posts

Over the course of the next three months, Locality is sponsoring a series of six MediaPost blog posts that will look at the revolution in local advertising, helping brands understand how to fill the “white space” that data has opened up in DMAs across America.

Part Two, we’ll look closely at how brands can strategically harness both advanced technologies and innovative approaches in the quest for maximum reach and impact. As a Locality executive will explain, this often involves combining local and audience-targeted streaming with local broadcast TV.

In Part Three, we’ll delve into how local convergent video combines the precision of streaming with the broad reach of broadcast TV, providing seamless access to local markets. This post will also cover the MediaPost webinar that Locality is sponsoring on October 29. For information on that webinar, click here.

Part Four provides a “Best Practices Guide to Buying Local Video,” including tips for avoiding ad fraud traps and guidance on determining “brand suitability.”

In Part Five, we’ll address the critical question that runs through this entire discussion: How do we know it’s working? Here we’ll speak with both research vendors and Locality executives to understand how you can use local advertising to maximize the effectiveness of your ad spend.

And finally, in Part Six, we’ll present the results of a new proprietary research study commissioned by Locality, underscoring points made throughout this series and incorporating reactions from Locality’s clients.