Tune is this week to AdNews L!VE: Regional Reignited as we dive into the whole gamut of opportunities regional Australia presents to adland.
Front-footed young Aussies, with family in tow, are fleeing the concrete jungle and swapping traffic jams and unaffordable housing for clear skies, fresh air and backyards. Regional Australia has a lot to give, which is not exactly a revelation for many Aussies. In fact 36% of Aussies are happily living in regional Australia, and leading the march is the generation that brands just can’t enough of—millennials.
According to the Regional Australia Institute, more people are moving into regional Australia than out of it. A trend that will continue to see traction through the nation, as we navigate through the changing landscape that COVID-19 has created. Gone are the days where office workers are expected to commute into the city or meet clients face-to-face for every interaction, with constant government advice and employers encouraging city slickers to work from home where possible. Now with fewer ties to city life, Aussies are expanding their horizons and considering a different way of life that was never previously an option.
It’s time for brands to adjust their outlook and match this movement that’s sweeping the nation. Currently on average, brands are only investing 10% of their media budget in regional Australia, with an overwhelming majority being spent in major cities. This is madness considering the advantages these overlooked areas have to offer—significant market share, great value media and access to growing target audiences. There is real opportunity for smart brands to think beyond the latte curtain of our major cities and capitalise on this profitable (and currently passive) brand-building landscape. I recently caught up with a couple of people who can speak with authority on the value of regional Australia as a market and confirmed that its absolutely a thing.
One brand that has grown to iconic status by celebrating regional Australia is IAG’s NRMA, who are not only active in engaging regional communities as a consumer base but also in encouraging city folk to discover the wonder that lies beyond city limits. According to IAG CMO, Brent Smart—regional Australia is incredibly valuable. “It’s actually a really important market because of the cost of living, people have the money to spend on stuff. One of the biggest problems in Australian marketing is that everyone is doing the same thing,” Smart said.
“The other issue is that marketers are so obsessed by tactics like performance targeting and digital marketing that they have forgotten the importance of making sure consumers know they exist. Lots of marketers are not building a brand, they’re just trying to sell stuff to people who are buying right now. We’re always looking for ways to do things differently and I think that media can be a great way to be different, or to own something. We use regional OOH ongoing as an ownable channel that is super relevant to what we do and, more often than not, we use them to add something rather than sell something—whether it’s to welcome people to country or encourage caravaners to take it easy and enjoy the journey.”
Peter Chapman is managing director at Enigma.
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