Mobile and internet service provider, Belong, has used the strong results from its first-ever Boomtown campaign as the catalyst to make regional advertising part of its ongoing marketing plans.
The campaign, which won B&T’s Best Regional Media Campaign last year, significantly boosted brand awareness and market share, prompting Belong to invest 30 per cent of its ongoing media spend into regional advertising.
Belong initially harnessed key metrics, showing that 30 per cent of its core audience was based in regional areas, to trial a regional advertising campaign to boost its share of voice and market share.
The “Belong Regional” campaign was rolled out to eight regional markets, with the key goal of driving sales, brand awareness and share of voice in regional areas, particularly Cairns, Newcastle, Wollongong, and Darwin.
The campaign focused on reaching regional audiences where they were, targeting ads on channels they regularly consumed, including TV, radio, and social media, and across out-of-home advertising as they travelled.
Working with agency partners, the Belong team produced creative materials with their target audiences at the forefront. A comparative creative message, combined with hyperlocal content that addressed specific towns, was used to capture attention. The campaign tactics also aligned with Belong’s overarching audience-first approach to planning and buying, using wider targeting and broader audiences to find the right person with the right message at the right time.
The campaign delivered results for both the marketing, commercial and operations teams: five of the eight target markets were successful in terms of uplift, resulting in an overall +20 per cent uplift in brand awareness. The advertising also yielded learnings for business operations, highlighting areas where coverage could be improved, which has helped to prioritise network investment.
“Regional audiences are hugely important, and they appreciate advertising specifically tailored to them, that considers their needs,” said Belong head of product and marketing, Aaliah Eggins-Bryson.
“From a business perspective, we see a lot of opportunity in terms of growth and capturing new demand in new markets. Everything we have done to date has been really positive and beneficial firstly, to test it out, and secondly, to roll that into our BAU, communications and targeting strategy”.
“It’s critical to rethink regional audiences and it’s crucial for bands to find ways to get their messages to them”.
Belong’s results come on the back of Boomtown’s recently launched “Uncapped and Untapped” campaign, designed to encourage the nation’s marketers to put regional media advertising in their 2024 plans.
Boomtown chairman, Brian Gallagher, said Belong’s campaign success showed the importance of regional audiences in driving sales and brand awareness, particularly to help inform long-term campaign planning. “Belong’s Boomtown campaign delivered increased brand awareness, consideration and sales that beat all their expectations,” he said.
“The results were so significant for the business that they have decided to sustain their investment in regional markets”.
“It just shows the wealth of opportunity in Boomtown for brands that want to grow their audience and increase market share. Regional audiences are ready and waiting for new businesses and for campaigns that speak directly to them; it’s a great time for marketers to start planning and buying advertising in the regions for 2024”.
