Nearly one-third of local newspapers have disappeared since 2005, and analysts say it’s accelerating. The financial state of local media is in such disrepair that a group of philanthropies recently announced a $500 million commitment to local journalism.
The story of local media advertising has been one of decline — as large digital platforms such as Meta and Google offered cheap targeting and scale — and one of disinvestment, as publishers reallocated resources to grow new revenue streams. Newsrooms have hired development officers to write grants, created news products designed to drive loyalty and reader revenue and focused on content that drives those revenue streams. But the sale of ads, marketing services or sponsorships remain an important part of the revenue mix.
It leads to a question: How do local ad buyers make decisions, and what do they plan on buying more of in the upcoming year?
Over the last three months, our team at the UNC Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media surveyed 92 advertising buyers across North Carolina and conducted 15 in-depth interviews. These decision-makers range from small business owners spending under $25,000 to large ad agencies and chief marketing officers spending over $10 million.
The goal with this research project was to learn how N.C. ad buyers make media buying decisions. Surfacing this hard-to-gather intelligence will help inform local media operators and executives looking to allocate resources in 2024 for commercial success.
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