Getting consumers to show up somewhere in the physical world and buy something is the endgame of local media & marketing. Though this segment of the digital ad world that we call “local” is complex and strategically nuanced, the desired outcomes of its practitioners often boil down to that one goal. With that in mind, marketing intelligence player InMarket recently published a sort of public-service announcement that spotlights best practices in marketing for consumer brands and businesses. And in doing so, it drew out a few common tactics that represent a new playbook in location marketing.
Before getting into those tactics, what are the challenges and realities in today’s environment? InMarket characterizes it as a crowded and fragmented landscape where consumers spend 9+ hours daily with digital media. Meanwhile, one-fifth of marketers face pressure to do more with fewer resources.
To cut through all that noise, the InMarket Breakthrough Outcomes report highlights precision timing and real-time personalization as two tactics that are most effective for any brand to gain visibility and foot traffic. These tactics include aligning campaigns with holidays and applying rigorous audience targeting.
Brands that did this – including Welch’s, OLLY, Bob Evans Farms, The Laughing Cow, Monkey Shoulder Scotch Whisky, and Tullamore D.E.W. Irish Whiskey – collectively achieved $1.5 million in incremental sales, $11.43 incremental return on ad spend (iROAS), 23.3% incremental lift, and 3.6% sales lift.
Precisely Unifies Address Intelligence – With Direct Impact on Core Service Verticals
Proof Points
Going deeper into inMarket’s findings, the five brands that it tracked applied 3 common tactics.
Precision Timing: From meal planning to seasonal moments like back-to-school and the holidays, these brands reached customers at peak purchase intent, translating into incremental sales and high iROAS across the board.
Creative Clarity: High-impact visuals paired with clear aisle directives, retailer cues, and seamless rebate experiences removed friction and guided shoppers from awareness to purchase.
Data-Led Personalization: Real-time activation and precision audience targeting helped these brands cut through a crowded marketplace and stay relevant when attention was scarce.
Here’s how each campaign performed:
As for the results, here are a few brand-specific milestones that were reached.
Welch’s used Bright Spring Creative to promote their new sparkling beverages, driving $1.5M incremental sales and a 2.1% sales lift.
OLLY met families during back-to-school with “Wellness is in Session,” delivering $1.5M incremental sales and $10.06 iROAS.
Bob Evans Farms paired mouthwatering breakfast creative with a clear aisle directive, generating $1.1M incremental sales, 3.0% sales lift, 3.1% unit lift, and $11.43 iROAS.
The Laughing Cow used iconic wedge creative and a “Find Store” call to action, achieving a 3.6% sales lift, $1.18 iROAS, and $58K incremental sales.
Monkey Shoulder & Tullamore D.E.W. leaned into a bold St. Patrick’s Day cash-back offer with seamless redemption, driving 23.3% incremental lift and a $0.29 cost per incremental visit.
These results speak for themselves, but that doesn’t mean they were easy to achieve. As noted, media fragmentation and dwindling resources for digital marketers make it harder than ever to gain visibility. But those very factors underscore the need for finely tuned and disciplined strategies.
For more detail, download the InMarket full report.
