Understanding how television geo targeting works is key to successful Local TV advertising. Unlike digital advertising's precise zipcode-level or household-level targeting, Local television advertising operates through TV market areas.

Let's explore how TV markets work and why they're so important for your advertising strategy!

What Are TV Markets?

TV markets are geographic regions defined by television viewing patterns - essentially, areas where specific local television stations capture a dominant share of viewing. They are mostly grouped around major metropolitan centers.

• Think of it this way: People don't just watch stations from their own city. They watch stations based on their ability to receive a signal from the nearest broadcast towers or cable provider, which could be 50-100 miles away.

How TV Markets Work

The United States has 210 TV markets, ranging from large metros like New York to smaller regional markets. This creates natural viewing zones where:

• One central city serves as the media hub
• Surrounding towns and rural areas receive the same TV content
• Coverage typically extends 50-100 miles from the market center

How Location Targeting in Simulmedia Self-Serve Works

On Simulmedia Self-Serve platform, you have two ways to target your TV advertising:

1. Direct TV market selection - If you know which TV markets you want, select them directly
2. Geographic selection - Choose cities, states, or ZIP codes, and our system automatically maps them to the appropriate TV markets

How does this mapping work?

When you select a state, city, or ZIP code, our system automatically activates all TV markets associated with that area.

• Cities map to their corresponding TV market, which covers a much wider area than city boundaries. Each city belongs to one specific TV market. It's the same for ZIP codes – they map to the whole associated TV market.
• States often activate multiple TV markets since most states contain several markets. These markets don't follow state boundaries and often extend into neighboring states. For example, the Washington DC TV market reaches into Virginia and Maryland, while the Philadelphia market extends into New Jersey and Delaware.

Advantages of Market-Wide Coverage for your Campaign

• Greater value: Each dollar reaches more potential customers across the entire region