M&A: Simplifying the local media experienceM&A activity is only going to increase in 2020. Instead of content acquisitions, consolidation will continue with purchases of local TV, radio, and media companies to increase buying leverage and better economies of scale offering the ability to better control and manage their media buying margin off their O&O properties. Additionally by reducing the number of digital/adtech vendor count and thereby simplifying processes, workflow, invoicing and reporting.
Local advertisers increasing their use of OTT
The future of local advertising is digital and programmatic. Local advertisers must adapt and accelerate their transition from traditional media to OTT and CTV advertising. In order to meet this demand, local advertisers will have to increase their use of OTT and leverage their local audience first party data to discover shifting local audiences as well as supplement their linear campaigns.
Development of new technology/products for local advertisers
In 2020, we’ll see a continued effort from local media companies to develop and rollout new products for their existing sales force to sell. Consumers love free local content and in order to stay engaged and competitive in the face of increasing pressure from the likes of Google, Facebook, and even Amazon, local media companies should consider roll out local focused OTT apps for their unique content especially around news and sports.
Increase the efficiency of their spend with campaign analytics
Since local ad budgets are often smaller, local advertisers are more sensitive to waste, whether that be frequency of the same ads or reaching undesirable audiences, and their reach is often targeted to consumers near their locations. Utilizing mid or inflight campaign analytics provides insights for advertisers to make adjustments and improvements of effectiveness and spend on campaigns. Some local advertisers are not digitally sophisticated and with better optimization on campaign reporting can lead to better measurement and attribution on desired outcomes such as did that consumer visit my location after seeing the ad.