Study: Local US ad sellers to drive performance
November 28, 2023
Local advertising sellers in the US face growing expectations to sell more digital ad inventory and demonstrate higher performance on campaigns, according to a study from Frequence, a specialist in advertising sales automation and workflow software. The report, which surveyed 471 local-market digital advertising and marketing professionals in the US, found that 72 per cent said their organisation expects them to deliver more results with fewer resources.
“Every day new advertisers enter the local market as barriers to entry fall and outcomes improve,” said Tom Cheli, CEO of Frequence. “Projections for future ad spend grow more optimistic by the day, and the excitement and growth have led to even greater expectations for performance.”
The survey found that 72 per cent of respondents felt recent changes to the digital advertising industry – like Apple’s recent AppTrackingTransparency feature – have led to a negative effect on their organisation’s performance. More broadly, 70 per cent feel like they struggle to keep up with all of the new strategies and technologies changing their industry, which include the rise of programmatic, streaming and attribution changes.
Valuable digital advertising talent is available to those companies willing to invest in automation to support them. A significant 72 per cent of respondents in the Frequence survey actually reported considering leaving their job for a competitor because of a lack of technology support.
Other highlights from the survey:
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When asked what creates the most stress when working with clients, 33 per cent cited gathering and analysing campaign performance data as the biggest driver. Additionally:
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29 per cent cited pressure to sell more third-party ad inventory
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19 per cent cited managing and adjusting campaigns in flight
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18 per cent cited determining an optimal mix of omnichannel campaign tactics or building a personalised proposal.
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37 per cent say reporting ad / campaign performance or results is the most difficult part of their job; 27 per cent say tracking in-campaign performance; 16 per cent say drafting proposals and determining the right omnichannel strategies; 14 per cent say adjusting strategies while campaigns are in flight; and 6 per cent say coming up with and managing creative assets.
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82 per cent of respondents wish their organisation provided them with more software to do their jobs.
“As the industry navigates this period of rapid change, one thing is clear: local-market media professionals need support to meet mounting challenges,” Cheli said. “Technological tools and greater automation can help immensely, and success awaits the companies that invest now to give their employees the tools and resources they need. Local-market advertising is a resilient, adaptive industry, and with the right strategies the future for media companies will remain bright.”