The first NGEN PLUS Boomtown Masterclass: Rethink Regional, held at the end of September, has been a resounding success with 37 participants from 13 agencies including Ikon, UM and Zenith, achieving an overall event satisfaction score of 9.1.

Participant Ellie Young, a Business Executive at Wavemaker, said: “The Boomtown Masterclass was a really great NGEN session – the varied format was engaging and fun, and I walked away with a greater insight to regional markets and their potential media opportunities.”

The Boomtown Masterclass education initiative moved to an online format with marketing expert Gaye Steel facilitating and a panel of experts featuring Jeremy Simpson (TRSN), Caroline Hugall (IAG) and Jo Fawkner (Zenith).

Zenith’s Jo Fawkner said: “I’m proud to be involved in the program and thankful to the Boomtown team for asking me to be a part of this initiative. We know that investment into regional markets is under-represented and can often be deprioritised, and while there can be many reasons that influence this, one barrier I have found is at times a lack of a deep understanding of regional markets and their strength in delivering reach. This masterclass series is a great step forward in educating the next generation of media professionals.”

Gaye Steel said: “We are so grateful to all of the participants for their time, energy and participation at the first ever Boomtown Masterclass. This interactive session delivered focused insights and industry tips to deliver significant regional audiences to unlock and drive business and brand growth. We’re looking forward to another great session planned for the 27th October.”

NGEN Head, Melanie Aslanidis, said: “The Boomtown Masterclass: Rethink Regional provides important knowledge for media buyers, delivering market based insights and practical planning tools to streamline the buying process which has often appeared fragmented and complex. The inclusion of the live panel discussion and access to leaders who truly understand the potential of regional advertising and the opportunity it represents for brands, was also critical to delivering our NGEN PLUS format that provides access to senior industry leaders and conversations that go beyond the basics.”

In conjunction with the masterclasses, Boomtown has developed its very own regional ‘bible’, called The Boomtown Guide. The 80 page book is designed to be an invaluable resource for media planners, buyers and marketers, containing regional advertising insights – everything from an overview of the regional landscape and its future, geographical and audience profiles, to media channel profiles and case studies. It is available online here.

NGEN PLUS Masterclass participants received The Boomtown Guide and were impressed by the content and insights that they learned during the first class, particularly the demonstration of  how regional advertising can drive business and brand growth.

The next Masterclass will take place on the 27th October from 10.00am to 12.00pm. Register at http://bit.ly/NGENPLUSBoomtown.

Boomtown plans to move the masterclasses to a face to face format in 2021, pending evolving government guidelines. These masterclasses will be open to everyone. To register your interest email info@boomtown.media.

For more information, visit: https://boomtown.media/education/