ITV Local in 'as live' campaign push

by Fiona Ramsay, Media Week 04-Jul-08, 15:05

LONDON - ITV has launched a new regional TV ad campaign to drive traffic to its ITV Local service.

The first ad launched in the Granada region on Monday, spearheading a series of ads across all ITV regions in England and Wales in July, August and September.

The ad will be an "as live" campaign, with the ads recorded daily, showcasing the additional content ITV Local has online for the day's top regional news stories. A different version of the creative will be made for each region.

Animated templates have also been designed, to be slotted into a clip presented by the regional news presenters.

The broadcaster also has teamed up with Crimestoppers to provide updates for local communities about crime levels and criminal activity in their areas.

The moves follow ITV's launch of two new portals featuring property and household utilities. ITV Local linked up with ThinkProperty.com, part of Guardian Media Group, to launch a new property area on the site. ITV Local's property channel previously only had videos on house projects and DIY tips.

ITV Local has also launched a co-branded portal with utility advice site uSwitch.

The expansion of ITV Local is a key plank in ITV's multi-pronged strategy aimed at hitting a target of £150m in online revenues by 2010.

ITV Local reported a record month in May, with 900,000 unique users, up from 750,000 unique users in November last year.