*Superdream Senior Media Buyer Aaron Jones shares an overview of what needs to be taken into account when planning media for different UK regions… *
Very few things merit a ‘one size fits all’ approach and media planning for regional campaigns certainly isn’t one of them.
Just because a brand or business has found a media mix to work well for one regional campaign, doesn’t mean that they can expect the same media mix to deliver similarly strong results in a different region. This applies even in cases where you’re trying to reach a similarly profiled audience (same age bracket, income bracket, gender etc.)
**Why? **
Primarily because people consume media in different ways: lots of things influence how individuals consume media, including their regional location. Where we base our lives has a massive impact on our media consumption. When planning a campaign, to understand the media mix your target audience is likely to be exposed to, it’s important you consider how they navigate their surroundings, spend their time and actively engage with different kinds of media. In terms of media consumption in London for example, industry sources indicate that people are exposed to the same amount of Outdoor advertising as people in Birmingham, even though they spend nearly an hour less each day out and about. These insights are key to ensuring your advertising effectively reaches your audience.
Additionally, the media on offer to brands and businesses also varies by region, often quite dramatically. For example, highly urban areas such as Birmingham have an abundance of Digital Outdoor Screens that can be attractive given their high impact and large potential reach. However in more rural areas, such as on the South Coast these types of screens are far less common. There are often also truly unique media spaces on offer in different regions. These are commonly Outdoor spaces such as Storm Cromination and Waterloo Motion in London or the M6 junction 9 boards and the ‘Eyes’ at Grand Central in Birmingham. Unique regional opportunities can also take the form of hyperlocal but high impact online, print or broadcast media. It’s the job of the media buyer to seek out and keep tabs on these opportunities.
Some regional variations affecting media planning are more subtle than others and may require a more sensitive approach. Local radio is an interesting area, not least because of how dramatically its influence varies from station to station and show to show, but also because, to be used to its full potential, it requires the campaign team to be understanding of subtle, regionally-influenced variations in language, accent and in some cases, sensibility. I’ve seen myself many times over how the use of regional colloquialisms or references and the employment of local accents on voice overs for radio ads can positively impact audience engagement. Below is an example of a radio ad we recently put together for a fostering client using voice actors we sourced within the target region.
So when it comes to planning a regional campaign, it really is key that the buyer does their homework and tailors their approach accordingly. To ensure that the decisions made are strong ones, it’s not just important that the planner understand the profile of the audience they are trying to reach, but also the influence of the region on media consumption trends and channel availability.