Did you know regional Victoria houses almost 20 per cent of the state’s population? Or that Tasmania is covered exclusively by regional media?

Why should you care? You should care because if your brand isn’t speaking to the 1.27m regional Victorian dwellers, or the 525,200 people who live in Tasmania, you’re effectively missing out on a whole chunk of potential business. 

It’s also worth noting regional Victoria has one of the highest rates of home ownership, one of the lowest levels of unemployment and is one of the most affordable places to live. This translates into a higher than average disposable income, something advertisers should take heed of.

Tasmania, on the other hand, poses a wealth of business opportunities for advertisers, especially across the commercial TV arena. Commercial TV as a standalone media is above the national average, while subscription TV numbers are low. Another interesting Tasmanian titbit is that Tassie dwellers have a desire to buy Australian-made product and are five per cent more likely to do so than their mainland compatriots.

Victorians have cash to splash while Tasmanians are big on commercial TV…the question thus becomes: how can your brand amplify its regional presence? 

Firstly, don’t dismiss regional towns. 

Ballarat-based creative agency Gasoline Media creative director Graeme Sculley said he believes regional centres are “often dismissed as conservative,” so sometimes brands will put less spend into regional towns.

He added: “Many city dwellers don’t realise the scale of industry in regional areas and the similarities of the consumers.”

Sculley also said there is less competition in regional markets, something brands could better capitalise on, with the ability to augment their advertising dollars another added benefit of increasing their regional presence. 

He noted, however, that it is important to study regional areas “and not employ a ‘blanket’ approach”.

So, how can brands amplify their regional presence? It’s all about embracing traditional media. 

National media agency Regional Media Direct boss Tim Aitken suggested that if brands want to advertise to regional towns across Victoria and Tasmania, they should direct their advertising spend into traditional advertising mediums.

“The TV & radio stations along with the local newspaper provide an important role in the community with a platform for their audiences to access and engage with local content.

“Given that there now many ways to consume content it is really important to understand the loyalty that the community have with their local media provider.”

On whether media agencies and brands are putting enough spend into regional advertising, Aitken said media agencies who do invest their time into understanding the benefits of regional advertising for their clients are going to achieve better results.

He added: “It is also important to understand there are less traditional media platforms in regional areas for their clients to use for their advertising campaigns. 

“Generally, a town or region has two radio stations targeting a different audience, one local paper, the free to air TV stations that operate in metropolitan markets, and limited out-of-home options. 

“This is a real positive for a media agency to identify and target a specific audience with a very cost-efficient media buy for their clients.”

Aitken concluded: “Successful brands are not ignoring regional markets.

“A visionary brand would see regional markets as a fantastic opportunity to drive business growth.”

The Boomtown collective recently announced a massive trade marketing competition, offering $1 million in regional advertising to one national agency or brand in Australia.

Click here for more details. Entries close 9th September.