Boomtown, the campaign set up to showcase regional media opportunities to advertisers, has added News Corp Australia to its ranks.
News Corp joining the initiative will see over 140 regional and community mastheads added to the campaign set up earlier this year with Southern Cross Austereo, WIN Network, Prime Media Group, Australian Community Media, Imparja and Grant Broadcasters as founding members.
Announcing News Corp’s support for Boomtown, News Corp’s managing director national sales Lou Barrett said regional Australia was a market too big to ignore.
“Many brands underestimate how huge the regional market is as an advertising and marketing opportunity,” Ms Barrett said. “Think about it – almost 40 percent of the population live outside our capital cities. These people are deeply connected with their local communities, retailers and service providers. This campaign will show just how important this audience is for brands, and how effective regional advertising can be.”
Brian Gallagher, chair of the Boomtown committee and Southern Cross Austereo’s chief sales officer added: “We are thrilled to have News Corp Australia join Boomtown’s history-making collective, encouraging marketers to rethink advertising in regional Australia. Regional consumers want inspiration, information and entertainment from sources they know and trust. This campaign will highlight the scale and the opportunities for regional advertising.”
“Boomtown will educate businesses and brands about the most effective, creative and innovative ways they can talk to regional communities – and achieve real outcomes.”
Research conducted for News Regional Media highlights the influence of advertising in trusted regional mastheads, with 57 percent of readers saying ads published in NRM mastheads influenced their brand preferences; 63 percent said they are likely to consider buying the product and 77 percent will act after seeing an ad in the paper.
News Regional Media has a significant print and digital footprint throughout Queensland, northern New South Wales, Northern Territory, Victoria and Tasmania with a total audience of more than 4.7 million or 83 percent of the population in its footprint, across all major audience segments.