Reach Solutions
Catherine Lynch
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09 January 2025
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2 min. to read

Strategic planning is the difference between an ad that gets ignored and a campaign that drives growth.

In a digital landscape where consumers are increasingly wary, successful businesses are shifting their focus toward environments that guarantee authenticity and trust.

To help you plan your next move, we have outlined five strategies to win, keep, and grow your customer base.

1. Prioritise trustworthy environments

The most successful planners know that where an ad lives is as important as what it says. Research indicates that 72% of ad engagement is influenced by the surrounding environment. By choosing local news, the most trustworthy media source, businesses benefit from a “halo effect” that makes their brand feel more legitimate.

2. Leverage local relevance

Successful businesses don’t just broadcast; they connect. 80% of consumers prefer to focus on things that directly affect their daily lives. Planning your campaign around community-focused topics ensures your message is 1.3x more likely to evoke feelings of trust and connection compared to other media.

3. Move beyond social media voids

While social media has its place, it often lacks depth and nuance. High-performing campaigns use local news to fill the void left by social platforms, especially among younger generations seeking a sense of belonging. Local online news is 10% more likely than social media to help audiences form meaningful connections.

Mastering Storytelling in Marketing

Storytelling Cheat Sheet & Action Plan

📃 To make implementation easy, we’ve created a one-page downloadable “Storytelling Cheat Sheet.”

This covers everything from crafting your narrative to measuring results – all in one place.

4. Focus on full-funnel effectiveness

Don’t just measure clicks at the top of the funnel. Successful advertisers plan for the entire journey. Ads placed on local online news titles see a significant uptick in effectiveness across the board:
✔️ Awareness: +2% improvement
✔️ Recall: +6% improvement
✔️ Purchase Intent: +6% improvement

5. Align with expert journalists

Audiences trust content more when they are familiar with the person delivering it; 63% of people agree that familiarity with a journalist increases their trust in the information provided. Successful campaigns align their brand with these trusted local voices to gain instant credibility.

Source: Consumer research conducted on behalf of Reach by PA Consulting. base: 5,000 media users.

Plan your next success

Whether you are looking to retain your current audience or grow into new markets, we can help you build a strategy rooted in trust.

Fill out this form today to discuss your ideas for your next high-impact advertising campaign.

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