IMAA has launched Regional101 – a deep-dive into the regional media landscape as part of its IMAA Academy education program.
The e-learning module is the latest course in the IMAA Academy’s eight-part education program and is a collaboration between the association and Boomtown – a media collective designed to connect marketers and brands with regional audiences.
The online course will provide participants with a detailed overview of regional media, including regional city profiles and audience metrics, including economic, industry, political, social and employment facts.
The module highlights key regional areas, from Cairns to Canberra and Geelong to Hobart, before delving into advantages and considerations, five deep dives into category insights, when using regional media and how to plan, buy and book regional.
The module explains regional media owners across channels, building a strategy for regional marketing and will also include a Regional101 glossary and toolkit, providing valuable resources and links to help agencies navigate the regional advertising landscape.
Regional101 is the fourth platform-specific, online learning module created as part of the industry-first IMAA Academy. Launched in March this year, the academy aims to provide a comprehensive learning platform for the media industry, focused on exploring the foundations of Australian media.
Boomtown chairman, Brian Gallagher, said Boomtown continues to enjoy a great working relationship with the IMAA and the team jumped at the chance to further its partnership by participating in the IMAA Academy for regional media.
“Complementing the other modules, Boomtown rounds out the story and reinforces that with a population in excess of 9.3 million people, regional Australia is a powerful marketplace for brands and businesses to reach," he said.
"High return on investment and cost-effective access to all media platforms across the regions can’t be left out of the program or off advertisers' media schedules.
"We congratulate the IMAA on the Academy initiative. It’s gratifying for us to know that the independent agency sector is investing heavily in the development and education of their people.”
IMAA CEO, Sam Buchanan, said regional media buying is an important area of education for agencies and marketers nationwide as it’s still a highly untapped market where a third of the population lives.
"The Boomtown collective has been heavily pushing the regional agenda to brands and agencies because of the significant opportunities it presents," said Buchanan.
“Regional Australia is a powerhouse of the Australian economy, yet only 17% of national media budgets are spent regionally. The Regional101 module is designed to really hone in on the advantage of buying regionally – there’s less media ‘clutter’, cheaper rates and strong relationships between regional residents and their local media.
There is significant market share and growth to be had in the regional market, said Buchanan.
"Particularly for brands that invest in understanding the audience, pitch their creative specifically to regional audiences, and select the right channels and platforms to really resonate with regional audiences," he said.
The IMAA Academy syllabus includes eight e-learning media course modules, rolled out every six weeks, along with videos and podcasts featuring industry leaders and channel specialists.
Each of the modules is IMAA-certified, with participants receiving a course badge once they successfully complete an exam for each course. Additional courses including audio, publishing and news, and digital are set to come later this year.
Participants can access the Regional 101 learning module via the IMAA Academy’s all-inclusive training package, which includes access to all media course modules and Business in a Box – a training subscription offering 21 additional courses - or via individual module sign-up.
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