Local TV stations’ marketing teams are about to have a very busy year in 2024. With the presidential election campaigns gearing up, the already adamant local news viewership is about to increase. Whether you’re a part of a team that produces the TV advertisements for your local station or an agency partner of a brand who is considering placing TV ads on local news stations in 2024, here’s what you need to know.

Consumers Recall TV Advertisements Delivered During Local News

Local News Continues to Maintain Popularity

According to a report by TVREV, local broadcast stations’ major attractor is local news. “As the research we did with Publishers Clearing House shows, local TV news is still very popular with consumers, and a sizable percentage would be upset if it went away.”

These broadcasts are a reliable and easy way to keep current with local happenings and must-know information. They’re also a trusted source for consumers who have spent years getting information through them. And with both presidential and congressional elections coming up in 2024, viewership will be at a high.

In other words, 2024 is the perfect time and local TV news is the perfect place to get your client’s TV advertisements seen.

Local TV Isn’t Just Traditional Anymore

Regardless of the increased viewership the election promises, some brands may be hesitant to place TV advertisements on local stations. It’s well known that traditional TV viewership has been slowly decreasing (though it’s still far from being a concern). However, local news stations no longer limit themselves to traditional TV.

That’s right; They’re extending their reach into streaming services. According to TVREV, local TV stations have taken the step into streaming to stay relevant. AND it’s not negatively impacting their localized ad performance either.

TVREV reports that local stations are using geolocation to ensure their TV advertisements continue to reach the proper local audiences. “This means that a local advertiser can run ads on a national streaming service, but just have them show up in a specific set of ZIP codes or even more granular ZIP+4 clusters.” When TV advertisements are relevant to consumers and where they live, brand recall increases, especially when it’s time for those consumers to make purchases later on.

And yes, consumers are watching. TVREV says that, “With the exception of the over 65 demo, over half of every age group demo is also watching local news on streaming.” Not only that, “Ads on streaming are only served when someone in the target audience is watching.”

Who is Watching?

Of course, knowing that at least some members of each generation are watching local news isn’t enough information to sell your media space to your prospects. To create TV advertisements that really resonate with the consumers who are watching, you need to know who they are.

AudienceSCAN on AdMall by SalesFuel can help. The audience data base has several local news watcher-related profiles, including:

Local Evening News Watchers
Local Late Night News Watchers
Morning News Show Watchers
Local TV Station Watchers
Local TV Station Viewers (via website or app – past six months)

What demographics make up each of these audiences? Which kinds of ads do they prefer? What do they plan to spend money on in the coming year? How do they want their purchases to makes them feel? All that information and more can be found on each of their profiles.

Use that information to make ads more personalized to the consumer group’s interests, needs and wants to increase their brand recall and boost your client’s chances of being the brand they shop with.

As 2024 approaches, don't miss the opportunity to help your clients craft truly effective TV advertisements and target the right audiences.

Photo by Clément M.