by Katrin Ulbrich, Director Sales Steering

Regional advertising on the big screen: Why connected TV advertising is becoming increasingly relevant for regional campaigns

Regional campaigns require both reach and precision. This is precisely where their particular challenge lies. Visibility needs to be generated precisely in the regions where locations, branches, catchment areas or local target groups are actually relevant.

Streaming advertising and connected TV advertising offer a solution that combines high visual impact with digital control. Campaigns run on the largest screen in the home, precisely in the region where they are relevant. For brands with a local focus, this creates a channel that effectively combines attention, relevance and efficiency.

What regional brands need in today’s media mix

Regional communication is often distributed across channels, each of which plays a clear role in the funnel.

Print can offer local visibility and remains relevant in certain markets, particularly when it comes to promoting offers or maintaining proximity to retail outlets. However, the quality of the contact depends heavily on the context of use.

Radio creates a regional presence and can build momentum in the short term, for example around promotions, openings or seasonal peaks. Visual brand presentation is, by its very nature, limited.

Digital Out of Home contributes to a presence in public spaces and is well suited to local concentration. The messaging is context-rich but not household-oriented.

Social media plays to its strengths in speed, interaction and target group segmentation. This is of interest for regional campaigns, particularly for messages designed to drive action. The usage context is fast-paced, fragmented and highly competitive for attention.

Addressable (ATV) extends linear television with digital regional targeting. Advertisements are played within the live TV programme, thereby utilising the reach and familiarity of traditional broadcast environments. This is particularly interesting for regional campaigns where linear viewing remains high among the target audience and where larger areas need to be covered efficiently. However, the approach remains closely tied to the linear programme environment in terms of both flexibility and placement.

Connected TV advertising (CTV) addresses precisely this issue. The channel runs on streaming apps, media libraries and other internet-enabled TV platforms, and is therefore not tied to the rigid advertising blocks of linear television. For regional campaigns, this provides greater flexibility in placement, more precise targeting and access to audiences who watch linear television far less frequently. This is particularly relevant in regional campaigns, as video reach on the big screen is combined with digital control, precise geo-targeting and efficient budget allocation.

This synergy is particularly strong when ATV and CTV are not considered in isolation. ATV can build regional reach in the linear environment, whilst CTV adds flexibility, additional net reach and targeted access to streaming-savvy audiences. This creates a regional video setup that effectively combines breadth and precision.

Where CTV is particularly strong in regional applications

CTV is particularly well-suited to campaigns with clearly defined catchment areas. These include branch networks, regional dealer networks, local events, generating test drives, store visits or promotional communications focused on specific cities and regions, precisely targeted around the location by county, region, city or postcode.

The added value lies in three key areas.

Visibility in a high-attention environment. Moving images in the living room have a different impact than a small screen in scroll mode.
Regional precision. Campaigns can be targeted precisely at areas where there is market potential: at postcode, county or city level.
Access to additional target audiences. CTV reaches households and younger user groups who are becoming increasingly difficult to reach via linear television.

CTV is thus positioned within the regional mix as a digitally controllable video channel on the big screen.

What really matters when it comes to Regio-CTV

For regional connected TV campaigns to be effective, more is needed than just targeted locations.

First and foremost, the right geographical logic is crucial. Not every campaign benefits from the same targeting criteria. Sometimes city boundaries make sense, sometimes postcode areas, and sometimes an extended catchment area around specific locations. Good planning is based on real market areas, commuter patterns, purchasing power, branch networks or regional demand.

Then there is the data strategy. A geo-filter determines where a campaign is displayed. The real strategic focus arises from the question of who you want to reach within this area. Of particular relevance here are interest-based or socio-demographic signals, as well as consumer preferences or usage context, depending on the campaign’s objectives. In this way, geographical reach becomes a regional target group strategy. This increases the relevance of the message and allows budgets to be used more efficiently.

The third lever is inventory selection. Not all CTV inventory contributes equally to regional objectives. The key factors are which streaming apps and publishers actually reach the target audience in the respective region, how reach and frequency are distributed, and where incremental contacts are generated. The publisher mix, ongoing optimisation and budget reallocations are integral to the campaign strategy.

And finally, integration within the funnel and media mix is key. Regional CTV can serve as an attention-grabbing opener and be followed up with display or social media in the next step. First, reach and attention in the streaming environment, then retargeting with direct activation.

Why specialist service providers can be useful in this field

At first glance, Regio-CTV sounds simple. In practice, it involves a combination of market understanding, data logic and inventory expertise, technology and operational management.

This is precisely why specialist service providers can make a real difference. They help to define regions not just geographically, but strategically. They bring experience in assessing CTV potential, understand the differences in available inventory, and can combine data points in such a way that regional targeting becomes a robust media strategy.

Added to this is the operational implementation. Campaigns require a clean setup, ongoing optimisation, transparent reporting and a clear assessment of how CTV fits meaningfully into the overall media mix.

That is why we adopt a ‘done-for-you’ approach. It addresses precisely these points: from target audience and regional analysis through to setup and delivery, right up to ongoing optimisation, you get everything from a single source.

Conclusion

Regional marketing requires channels that are both locally relevant and brand-strong. Connected TV advertising (CTV advertising) meets this requirement perfectly. The channel combines the impact of moving images on the big screen with digital control and regional precision.

Regional CTV advertising is particularly effective when geo-targeting, data strategy and inventory selection are considered together. This results in a regional video strategy with real substance.

For companies with multiple locations, catchment areas or regional growth targets, this is a highly effective way to build visibility precisely where it is commercially relevant.