Local TV Advertising: What You Need to Know in 2025

In the digital age, we witness many dramatic shifts in how companies advertise their products and services. However, despite many dramatic changes, some old approaches still remain relevant. In this article, we will focus on one such approach, namely local TV advertising. While it may truly seem outdated, local TV advertising, actually, brings many important benefits to businesses. In this article, we will explore why local television remains a powerful, relevant tool for businesses aiming to build trust, increase brand awareness, and connect with regional audiences. We will focus on the core principles of local TV advertising, its main benefits, the best ways to establish a successful local TV advertising strategy, and many more.

What is local TV advertising?

Traditionally, let's start with a definition. In brief, local TV advertising refers to broadcast marketing where businesses promote their products or services on television channels that target specific geographical regions. The part "local" is really important here as local TV advertising refers to designated market areas. The key point here is to reach viewers in their immediate community. Local TV advertising is widely applied by small and medium-sized businesses that aim to connect with local audiences. Such an approach combines the credibility of traditional media with the precision of regional targeting.

How does local TV advertising work?

In local TV advertising, ads are placed on television stations that broadcast to the above-mentioned designated market areas. Businesses purchase ad slots, often during local news or regional programs, to reach viewers in their target region. There is an opportunity to purchase such slots directly from the TV station or through media buying agencies. Ads are scheduled based on the desired audience demographics, time of day, and budget. This localized approach allows brands to tailor messaging to regional interests and behaviors. As a result, local companies can come up with an ideal formula for promoting nearby stores, services, or events.

Why local TV ads still matter

So, what actually makes local TV advertising relevant in the era of digital marketing? The point is that television continues to hold strong credibility and trust, especially among older demographics. In addition, the local essence of local TV advertising means a direct way to build brand recognition within a specific area.

With local TV ads, companies can achieve a broad reach within targeted geographies. This means strong viewer engagement and high trust levels. Simply put, with local TV advertising, companies can deliver tailored messages to particular audiences within particular areas.

Benefits of local TV advertising

Now, let's discuss the main advantages of local television advertising that make this approach valid.

Relevant messaging around local events

With local TV, brands can easily align campaigns with events in a particular area. For example, marketers can adjust their campaigns to holidays, regional sports events, festivals, or local traditions. This aspect holds great potential in terms of delivering relevant messages that resonate with the target audience at a particular moment in time.

Precision targeting within a specific area

Local TV spots allow companies to reach viewers in a specific city or region. This means greater geographical precision of ad campaigns. As a result, marketers ensure that advertising dollars are spent effectively. The point is that such an approach makes the probability of targeting irrelevant audiences outside their market much lower.

Enhanced trust and brand authority

With local TV ad best practices, companies can promote their messages alongside trusted local news and community programs. This allows them to boost brands' credibility. The point is that many consumers can view businesses advertised on familiar local stations as more reputable and reliable.

Budget-friendly campaigns

Local advertising is often more affordable than national TV campaigns. Sometimes, thorough research helps marketers find attractive local advertising options at surprisingly attractive costs. In addition, connected TV options allow businesses to focus even more tightly on key audiences without overpaying for broad campaign outreach.

Boosted in-person engagement

Ads on local TV help businesses drive real action by encouraging nearby viewers to visit a store or explore the service. A well-crafted local advertising campaign can become a significant driver for word-of-mouth marketing. This, in turn, will positively impact foot traffic and local sales.

4 Steps to build a local TV advertising strategy

Local TV advertising can significantly boost your business. However, to achieve high conversion, you should do things the right way. These are the most important steps for establishing a well-thought-out strategy for local media advertising.

Step 1: Clarify your objectives

Just like in any approach to digital advertising, you should pinpoint exactly what you want to achieve first. Whether you want to increase store visits, promote a special offer, or enhance your brand's online visibility, consider this question before starting to craft any local TV ad campaign.

If your main goal is to promote your brand, deliver a story-driven ad that forges an emotional connection. If you’re advertising a time-sensitive promotion, make sure to provide clear messaging and a direct call to action that motivates viewers to respond quickly.

Step 2: Plan your budget

Many factors impact the price of cable TV ads. The most significant ones are airtime slots, ad duration, and frequency. In particular, ads displayed during prime-time typically cost more. However, they offer brands an opportunity to reach larger audiences. Mind that you should consider production expenses while planning your ad campaign. A polished, professional ad reflects well on your brand. When you come up with a clear vision of your overall budget, make sure to decide how to distribute it across various channels, time slots, and platforms for the best results.

Step 3: Create an engaging ad

A well-crafted ad is the key to your campaign's success. Your main goal is to deliver a message that resonates with local viewers. These are the most important aspects of delivering engaging advertising:

Make sure to deliver a simplified message centered around a key idea.
Try to build emotional connections with your audience by addressing the audience's nostalgia, community pride, or humor.
Create an ad that stands out thanks to vivid visuals, clever storytelling, relatable references, or unique hooks.

Step 4: Select the right ad placements

Analyze your audience to understand when and where they are most likely to watch their ad. Important factors to consider include the time of day when your potential clients tune in and the types of programs they prefer to watch. For example, if you’re aiming to reach families, it’s smarter to air your ad during early-evening family shows rather than during late-night programming. Also, decide whether to concentrate your efforts on a single local station or spread your ads across several channels. Consider expanding your placements because it can help you connect with a wider range of potential customers.

How to measure the success of local TV ads

Now that you have established a local TV campaign, it is vital to understand how it performs. This part is essential when it comes to understanding its impact and making smarter marketing decisions. From our experience, we recommend you to focus on the following metrics:

Impressions that allow you to measure how often your ad was displayed on TV and how many people potentially saw your message.
View-through rate (VTR) - metric that measures the percentage of viewers who watched your ad all the way through.
Cost per acquisition (CPA) - a metric that helps you calculate the average cost to win a new customer through your campaign.
Cost per completed view (CPCV), which allows you to understand how much you're paying for each full ad view.
Return on ad spend (ROAS) - a metric that compares the revenue generated from your ad to its total cost.

By analyzing all these metrics, you can better understand the efficiency of your investment and the quality of your message. Adjust your advertising campaign based on the above-mentioned parameters to maximize ROI.

Understanding the cost of local TV advertising

As has already been mentioned, local TV advertising can often be more cost-efficient than traditional ad campaigns with a broad outreach. However, it is not a universal truth because the price for such marketing practices typically depends on a wide range of factors. To manage your budget efficiently, make sure to consider several aspects, including the delivery method, market size, and the extent of audience reach. Local TV advertising costs largely hinge on the population of the area and the chosen time slots.

In particular, prime-time broadcasts and major events demand higher prices. Quite often, when it comes to the area with high conversion potential, airing a commercial during prime time can cost tens of thousands of dollars. It is also important to consider the impact of high-profile events. For example, getting a spot during the Super Bowl in an area with a high historical interest in football may be extremely costly. From our experience, the price for a 30-second ad can vary dramatically - between $5 and $30 per thousand viewers (CPM). You may consider streaming TV options because they often offer quite flexible pricing models that can be adjusted on demand.

It’s also important to budget for additional expenses beyond airtime, such as video production, creative agency fees, and any talent or licensing costs. Much depends on your ability to manage the campaign efficiently. That's when tailored adtech software may come in handy.

Consider TeqBlaze your trusted partner

To leverage local TV advertising the right way, make sure to rely on a reliable partner that provides tailored adtech solutions. TeqBlaze, a company with exceptional adtech expertise is ready to help you.

In our practice, we had numerous successful cases of cooperation with TV advertising companies. In particular, we helped a prominent U.S.-based business that focuses on Connected TV (CTV) advertising campaigns. We provided the customer white-label SSP+Ad Exchange platform that enhanced their personalized advertising networks, enhancing both ROI and conversion.

TeqBlaze is ready to help you boost your TV advertising efforts by developing a tailored product or providing an excellent ad management platform from our technological portfolio, such as our white-label demand-side platform.

Final word

Local TV advertising continues to prove its relevance and effectiveness even in the modern, highly digitized marketing environment. By combining the trusted authority of traditional media with the precision of regional targeting, businesses can build meaningful connections with their audiences. This approach also holds great potential to foster brand loyalty and drive real-world engagement. With the right strategy — clear objectives, smart budgeting, compelling creatives, and strategic placement — local TV campaigns can deliver impressive returns.

However, success in local TV advertising requires more than just good intentions — it demands the right technology, expertise, and support. That’s where Teqblaze comes in. With extensive experience in developing powerful adtech solutions, Teqblaze empowers businesses to maximize the impact of their local TV and CTV advertising efforts. Whether you need a custom-built platform or a ready-to-use white-label solution, our team will deliver the tools you need. Don’t let outdated systems hold you back. Partner with Teqblaze today and unlock the full potential of local TV advertising for your brand’s future success.