Locality’s LocalX platform unifies planning, activation and measurement to solve long-standing challenges in local video advertising

Brands wanting to tap into the power of local advertising face unique challenges that national solutions simply weren’t built to address. With disconnected tools, siloed data, and complex workflows, marketers can find themselves navigating a maze with limited resources. 

New tools can confront the challenge and maximize the vast trove of data available to advertisers. Steve Silvestri, Head of Data Innovation at Locality, explains how their new LocalX platform is changing the game by unifying the signals that matter most to local advertisers — while leveraging artificial intelligence to extract actionable insights that drive performance.

“Up until now, most of the tools out there were built for national campaigns, and they don’t flex easily to local applications,” Silvestri says. “Local buyers are just navigating this maze of disconnected tools, datasets, and a ton of publishers that claim to have representation. It’s really hard to discern and navigate the landscape.”

What local advertisers need, he says, are solutions that are flexible, modular, and purpose-built for local — not something retrofitted from national.

“Local advertisers have more nuanced data needs than national campaigns — they have brick-and-mortar locations, care about foot traffic, and need to understand signals related to what’s unique in their specific markets.

“One size doesn’t fit all, but the right-sized framework can provide custom solutions that allow advertisers to do what they want to do,” Silvestri explains.

Whether that’s focusing on viewership data, foot traffic analysis, or brand building, local advertisers need the flexibility to blend different data sources based on their specific KPIs and market needs.

Locality’s approach elevates the collection and management of data to a science, where the overwhelming amounts of data can be corralled into manageable insights using powerful AI tools.

“For example, who’s going to spend the time needed to look at weather, foot traffic, media-impression level data over the next two to three years to determine patterns,” Silvestri asks. “And why things happened in one market or one zip code and didn’t happen in the others when they look exactly alike? Those are all extremely valuable to understand on the local level, and AI can help us unlock that.”

To Silvestri, the coordination of it all is not unlike putting together an elaborate dance.

“The choreography of all available data is critically important — especially now that local video is a fully measurable medium.”

Unified Approach

Locality’s deep experience with local markets and how they work gives advertisers a leg up understanding the local media ecosystem. Taking a unified approach to planning, activation and measurement — all under one roof — means brands get a comprehensive view they likely didn’t have before.

“Unification is key,” Silvestri says. “The real-time signals that are available on the digital ecosystem really help drive that full feedback loop — the right data expressing and informing the campaign, and the right data to measure.”

The LocalX platform reflects this flexible approach, letting clients engage with Locality in multiple ways. 

“You can leverage us for our intelligence — from planning to audience activation on the audiences we touch each and every day, through advanced post-campaign analysis and re-activation,” Silvestri explains.

This includes the ability to bring their own first-party data and create “super fueled intelligence” based on custom combinations of viewership, performance data, and local signals.

Central to these local signals is the wealth of information from Automatic Content Recognition (ACR), which has fundamentally changed what’s possible in local advertising measurement.

“ACR unlocks a whole bunch of viewership data across the market,” Silvestri says. “It captures everything on the glass — whether someone’s actively viewing content in a digital streaming environment or watching linear television.”

Providing granular insights into viewing behavior on a large scale across all markets, ACR delivers an unprecedented amount of data that brands can use to maximize every ad dollar. The trick is having the right tools to process it all.

AI applications for local intelligence

Artificial Intelligence, which seems to be doubling in its abilities with each passing month, offers “always-on” intelligence to manage massive data sets. Equally important is the ability to accurately process the right data at those real-time speeds. 

For advertisers without their own data-science teams, next-generation data applications can offer "data science in a box" features that affordably identify patterns across multiple variables. More than ever before, AI has the potential to help isolate why two seemingly identical markets can see drastically different results with the same ad — or uncover valuable opportunities.

“We were able to use that to inform and re-express the next buy,” he says. “Next thing you know, we’ve identified 700 new Zip codes that the advertiser would have never considered.”

But that doesn’t mean AI can do the job alone.

“AI is a tool, and it’s not replacing the emotional intelligence and the creativity of what we do day in and day out,” Silvestri says. “It’s more about the assistance and resource efficiencies — allowing us to explore data in a fast, effective, and meaningful way.”

Data Choreography, Clean Rooms and the Full Campaign Lifecycle

Breaking down the silos between planning, activation, and measurement helps create a unified data architecture for local intelligence. Optimized in real-time, data sets are reconciled into meaningful insights that reflect the full life cycle of the ad.

“This is the choreography,” Silvestri says. “And it’s super important that we’re working very closely with brands in a consultative fashion to make it all come together.”

 Along with AI, another powerful tool for Locality is the use of data clean rooms. Few brands want to share their hard-won data and insights with the world, and these secure setups ensure privacy.

“It’s a safe space where data never leaves the individual environments in which it currently resides,” Silvestri explains. “So, we can create a new data set from the two combined, which could never be reverse engineered.”

Combining anonymous data sets supercharges the iterative process and extends the value of the data collected on either side.

“Getting that kind of access gives us a lot more power to bring these insights to bear in local markets,” Silvestri says. “It’s a great use of AI that we’re really excited about and that will really benefit our advertisers.”

The Future of Data Innovation at Locality

Silvestri has an optimistic view of the road ahead. Looking just 12-18 months in the future, he sees even more enhanced data applications coming to market as well as more clean room partnerships. For Silvestri, this represents a fundamental shift in what’s possible for local advertisers.

“When you align the new world of next generation data solutions with media decisioning, you unlock opportunity that redefines boundaries. It’s just a tremendous tool for local advertisers.”

And even though he’s the Head of Data Innovation, Silvestri says it’s more than just a numbers game.

“These big advances in data collection and intelligence are impressive and will really amplify our ability to serve our customers,” he says. “But what really sets Locality apart is our combination of scale, premium inventory, and deep local expertise across both streaming and broadcast — all delivered through one point of contact. That’s a powerful combination.”