Photo by Peter Oates The editorial vehicle connecting local brands with their audience to create a “loyal relationship” that lasts long beyond the media purchase cycle and drive action

As the frequency of local digital and traditional media advertising increases, sophisticated marketing and media agencies are implementing initiatives to further engage audiences in targeted media, often at the local level. These optimization strategies vary in scope, but they are typically broadly functional, offering local brand advertising as one component.

Surveys of consumers in professional, college and high school districts reveal that awareness of a brand drops sharply during the school year and that local consumers have strong memories of the brands they were exposed to prior to high school. Local media can help brands communicate with this audience and drive word-of-mouth and brand association.

Brands are being encouraged to leverage content marketing for targeted local marketing initiatives and since 2007 there has been an explosion of local digital advertising for individual brands. This year’s edition of the “Top Global Media Brands of 2019” includes over 30 global brands with a strong presence in the local market and identifying innovative tactics for local communities. To better understand the value of content marketing for local advertisers, Content Marketing Institute examined profiles for a wide range of global brands to determine the effectiveness of their local content marketing programs. Findings revealed below are identifying which brands are most effective for engaging local consumers.

Brands that are popular in their market area

Brands that have market exclusivity in their market area

Brands that have both local and national content strategy for the local market

Brands that generated revenue through their local content marketing activity

Below are five brands that are top global media brands but have very successful local content marketing strategies. Find out the top reasons they are so successful.

Boing Boing

This Seattle-based tech start-up just closed a $5 million Series A fundraising round, though its venture capital history does not include more than a few angel investments. This following startup to generate revenue and grow profits was very successful in connecting consumers with digital content. Their highly engaged users and community during the advent of “smart cities” spurred Boing Boing to launch BoingBoing for Hire, a business of local utility companies. The online publication created dozens of in-depth videos and articles for utility companies, media companies and the government about how to source creative talent. Most of the content pieces are often directly sourced from customer testimonials and comments. It includes the careers of local professionals and takes consumers into a special, more personal, engagement mode where they can learn more about careers relevant to what they do.

Frenemy

Frenemy’s mission is to create open discussion amongst individuals of all ages and experience levels about topics of mutual interest. More than a publishing platform and radio show with live events, Frenemy provides the “social radio” for all kinds of activity with experts, hosts and audiences. Of their growing B2B and B2C audience, Frenemy Marketing Senior Director, Sonia Bahl, said “Without content, the community cannot form as close a bond. This is where our content comes in handy.” Their editorial vehicle connecting local brands with their audience to create a “loyal relationship” that lasts long beyond the media purchase cycle and drive action.

Yahoo

Yahoo is one of the largest online publishing portals that hosts 30-plus original mobile-friendly daily news, entertainment and lifestyle videos in addition to the hundreds of premium content pieces published every day by thousands of specialized journalists and producers. They have created a content strategy to connect more than 90 million active users with the more than 170 million unique monthly U.S. visitors who come to Yahoo for video, live coverage and information about brands and products.

Townsquare Media

Townsquare Media, a mobile-first, data-driven advertising platform serving over 250 million unique daily visitors worldwide, creates its own unique story of local digital media in North America by implementing an integrated multi-faceted content marketing strategy for clients in over 3,500 media outlets. The content strategy, grounded in the understanding that local content is the key ingredient for local success, includes various platforms that each target a different audience segment. Content from all these media platforms are available on Townsquare’s main website and several mobile apps for iOS and Android.

Men’s Health

Men’s Health wants to connect consumers with its readers – male and female alike. These readers are routinely working adults across age groups and experience challenges as they do work to balance their lives and families, which can lead to information barriers that they turn to Men’s Health for solutions.