The success of the Boomtown Collective has seen nine in 10 media buyers invest in regional media in the past 12 months, with 96% planning to use regional media in their next campaign, according to new research.
Boomtown launched in April 2019 and has since stamped itself as a major media market, now representing 9.1 million regional Australians, or 36% of the population.
Boomtown’s annual study* of media buyers across the country, conducted by SCA iQ last month, explored awareness and perceptions of regional media, the Boomtown brand and the Boomtown Hub for media planning.
Among the results highlights:
- 98% of media buyers say regional media is effective in achieving a ROI
- 75% cite regional’s ‘valuable audiences’ as a key reason for its inclusion in campaigns
- 72% say regional media provides access to local audiences and local reach
- Almost one in three media buyers added regional media to client campaigns after hearing or seeing Boomtown advertising – an increase of 43% year on year.
Some comments from media buyers nationally, the tracker’s survey respondents, included:
- “A crucial and influential audience.”
- “Proved to be effective more times than I can count.”
- “Larger scale reach. A valuable audience that should not be forgotten.”
“Boomtown saw Australia’s regional media owners unite in an industry-first initiative to tackle the issue of the underinvestment of advertising dollars in regional markets. In two and a half years, Boomtown has established itself as a major media market in its own right offering diverse, high-disposable income audiences in an uncluttered environment, at scale,” Boomtown Chairman and SCA Chief Sales Officer, Brian Gallagher, said.
“Boomtown is indeed booming, with a new record of almost 70,000 new jobs on offer in July^ and housing prices jumping by almost 18% in the year to June** fuelled by metro migration and the ‘work from anywhere’ phenomenon. Our tracking study demonstrates that media buyers have regional Australians squarely in their sights; 9.1 million unforgettable Aussies they can’t afford to ignore.”
In addition, the Boomtown Hub, an industry-first online regional media planning tool which launched in March, provides an easy, seamless way to search and find 9.1 million regional Australians in minutes. According to the tracker survey, 40% of those who’ve used the Hub say it has changed the way they plan and buy regional media.
Sources: *Boomtown Trade Tracker Study August 2021 from SCA iQ; ^Regional Australia Institute; ** CoreLogic’s monthly home price index
About the Boomtown Collective
Boomtown represents 9.1 million people living in regional Australia and aims to shine a light on the benefits of advertising in regional Australia across multiple platforms and channels. 14 of Australia’s 19 cities are in Boomtown and 36% of the country’s total population lives in regional Australia. Boomtown’s eight Australian media owner members are SCA, WIN Network, Prime Media Group, ACM, News Corp Australia, TRSN, oOh! Media and Imparja.