a4 Advertising Insights: Local Ad Business Reignites as COVID Recedes

That39s according to Dave Widmer Vice President at a4 Advertising He notes that as local businesses rebuild it is more important than ever to communicate with consumers quotWe encourage local businesses to get out there and talk about their features and benefitsquot he said quotMake sure you39re reiterating your value propositionquota4 Advertising short for Altice Advanced Advertising ampamp Analytics offers ad sales solutions for advertisers of all sizes It offers cable TV ad opportunities in markets served by Altice systems including Optimum which serves sizable portions of the sprawling New York DMA a4 Advertising also offers digital inventory on thousands of websites apps and overthetop OTT providers and can even reach multiple screens with digital ad retargetingServing local businesses is very much a part of a4 Advertising39s mandate When the pandemic hit its own business hard a4 struggled alongside the small and medium clients that advertise on its platforms Many businesses were forced to shutter their doors for weeks if not months Labor shortages and supply chain issues continue to reverberate through businesses of all sizes Even now two years later some are rebuilding while others are busier than everquotWe all experienced the same adversityquot said Widmer who is based on Long Island and oversees a 28person sales team quotLocal partnerships helped everyone We have deeprooted relationships with advertisers We know them We39re in their stores We patronize their businessesquotAfter a difficult 2020 Widmer noted that the company39s business rebounded stronger than ever in 2021 And this year is off to a robust startSome Long Island businesses and categories have fared better than others and that39s reflected in a4 Advertising39s sales Automotive traditionally a top local ad category is down as dealers struggle with inventory shortages and manufacturers deal with chip shortages But Widmer said four other verticals are thriving home improvement healthcare legal and financial servicesEven before the pandemic his team was working to diversify its client roster and the pandemic pushed these four categories to the forefront quotIt39s intuitive that when people are home more they39re thinking about their house morequot he explained quotWhen there39s a pandemic they39re thinking about their health When there39s financial turbulence they39re thinking about their finances and during any unsettled time legal becomes a big issuequotWhile Widmer specializes in the New York area he hears similarly encouraging reports on local businesses from other markets quotThe trends we39re seeing in home improvement and healthcare are happening everywherequot he saidDespite those robust categories many businesses still feel pinched by the financial strains related to COVID19 Persuading them to open their wallets for advertising can be challenging That39s where a439s broad menu of services comes into play Widmer notedWhen business owners hear TV advertising they often object thinking advertising costs will be skyhigh That39s not necessarily true Widmer said Advertising on cable TV presents opportunities to buy across networks at varied price points Businesses can access the biggest networks from Fox News to ESPN at reasonable rates They can even buy spots in marquee events like the March Madness men39s basketball tournament and the recent Final Four which was telecast on TBS a4 can package networks with hightimespentviewing optimization so businesses extend their reach and frequency with relevant audiencesa4 Advertising can also target linear TV digital video and OTT buys as well as mobile with its Ad Messenger platform Targeting used to be digital media39s selling differential compared to linear TV Not anymore Using settop data from Altice cable boxes a4 can access proprietary anonymized data on individual households39 viewing habits Combined with other consumer data such as credit card history a4 Advertising can build granular detailed media plans to target advanced audience segmentsWith data targeted buys quotthe client knows that their dollars that every one of their dollars is going to go to a prospective consumer that meets the criteria of who they39re trying to reachquot Widmer said For instance the company recently created a media plan for a Long Island pharmacy interested in reaching pet owners In doing so it combined cable networks that index high for households that own pets including Animal Planet National Geographic and The Weather Channel This was highly effective for the client In another example Widmer explained that Long Island advertisers can narrow the market down into seven zones and target households by zip codeBut a4 Advertising doesn39t stop with linear cable TV Since Altice is also a highspeed internet provider a4 can access IPlevel data on browsing activity and digital streaming usage It can use that information to inform media buys and deliver ads on internetconnected devices Retargeting capabilities allow a4 Advertising to deliver messages to multiple devicesquotThat39s our calling cardquot Widmer concluded quotData is everythingquotClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet

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a4 Advertising Insights: Local Ad Business Reignites as COVID Recedes

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Alli Romano

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