Local marketing and niche audiences boost revenue in a data-driven world

Strategies to avoid digital ‘skip bins’

Marketing agency TFM Digital specialises in media for franchising and multi-location businesses, so is used to harnessing niche audiences within local area marketing.

“We found messaging that connects with the local environment and community will resonate best,” says Taylor Fielding, CEO of TFM Digital, a new entrant in this year’s AFR Fast Lists and the author of white paper ‘Local Area Marketing Secrets: Transitioning away from digital skip bins‘.

“Platforms like Meta and Google can become dumping grounds for local marketing budgets,” Fielding says. “They become digital skip bins, where lack of personalisation and relevance leads to wasted resources.

“These platforms often categorise users into digital cookie-cutter audiences, which are broad segments that often overlook the subtleties of local markets.”

As a result, many Australian businesses have been frustrated with mass market campaigns that don’t deliver results.

“Meta is saturated with brands fighting for the same audience and unless you can execute regular fresh creative – weekly even – results are slowing down for local area marketing,” says Katherine Lucas, the national family marketing lead for Goodstart Early Learning.

“This is keenly felt in dense suburban areas with high competition. Getting good results for campaigns in regional markets is even more difficult.”

So, when 11 of Goodstart’s 13 Townsville childcare centres were finding it hard to recruit great staff, they knew they had to find really smart ways to connect with their local audience.

Helping big businesses connect locally

The early learning group focused the campaign narrative on local childcare centre directors. Then, the media strategy targeted locals through an integrated digital and out-of-home campaign. QR codes, local events and digital ad retargeting were integral to the campaign’s success.

Experts say an overreliance on digital platforms like Meta and Google can result in a loss of nuance and reduce the effectiveness of marketing campaigns.

“This oversimplification can lead to campaigns that just don’t engage local communities,” says Fielding.

At the same time as local campaigns are failing to hit the mark with grassroots audiences, there is more pressure than ever on marketing budgets.

“Senior executives are being told to find efficiencies within their marketing teams and budgets, with a particular focus on reducing costs per lead,” says Fielding.

TFM Digital, which counts Eureka Furniture and Goodstart Early Learning Centres among its growing list of clients, was founded by Fielding in 2020 after identifying a gap in the market for a media and marketing consultancy serving franchise businesses and in the latest financial year reported a 42 per cent jump in revenues.

The group has targeted the franchise and multi-location sectors since its creation. Aligning closely with the Franchise Council Australia has given TFM entry to major industry events and a voice in key industry conversations.

Drawing on its own aggregated client data, TFM together with Neilsen now produces the quarterly Future Franchisee Report, offering insights into the behaviour of high-value franchisee prospects – those with $100,000 in the bank and an appetite to invest.

The independent group, which trades all its own media, prides itself on its data-driven approach, tailoring its buying accordingly. Together with the emergence of new advertising technology, TFM is helping brands deliver more relevant local messaging and making better use of their budgets.

“Strategic planning and buying in local media at scale is now within reach for brands of all sizes,” says Fielding. “We expect OOH [out of home] advertising to become even more attractive as new tools are launched that measure the effectiveness of outdoor advertising, which is often a great strategy in regional and suburban areas.”

The soon-to-be launched MOVE 2.0 is an advanced audience measurement system for OOH advertising, representing the biggest upgrade in OOH measurement in 11 years. The audience measurement system will give advertisers comprehensive, accurate and detailed data on OOH advertising, improving their ability to plan, execute and measure campaigns.

‘Niche’ becomes king

Fielding says the move towards niche audiences and media will continue to gain traction, with commentators predicting it will be a significant trend in 2025.

“One-size-fits-all marketing strategies are no longer appropriate. By concentrating on groups of niche audiences, brands can achieve greater engagement and loyalty from their target markets. Agencies like ours are pioneering marketing for multi-location businesses by using technology to reach local audiences at scale,” he says.

Consequently, Australian brands’ success in local markets hinges on their ability to adopt data-driven strategies that prioritise personalisation and relevance.

“By moving away from the oversimplified approaches of digital platforms and embracing the nuances of local communities, brands can achieve greater engagement and loyalty. The tools and technologies are available, it’s just up to the brands to seize this opportunity,” Fielding says.

To learn more, visit https://tfm.digital/