Survey: Marketers Lean-In to Personalization, Performance

We’re well into H2, and omnichannel ad platform Mediaocean has released its 2025 H2 Market Report, a compilation of responses from a global survey of hundreds of marketing professionals. It looks like experimentation is out, and execution is in when it comes to using AI, advertising on CTV, and verifying identity as the foundations of growth. Personalization and performance are getting more sophisticated, and marketers are leaning in.

Rickey Davis, Vice President of Strategy at  Innovid, a Mediaocean company, talked with StreetFight about these shifts, how they relate to hyperlocal marketing, and the increased focus on AI and CTV.

How can hyperlocal marketing strategies adapt to the increased focus on AI and CTV?

Hyperlocal marketing has evolved from small-scale “test-and-learn” pilots into a core execution strategy for delivering relevance at scale. That shift is being accelerated by CTV and AI.

CTV brings together the best of linear and digital. So, you’ve got mass reach and the precision to connect with communities, neighborhoods, or households. AI makes it possible to operationalize hyperlocal strategies by automating audience discovery, optimizing placement, and dynamically adjusting creative to reflect local context.

Instead of thinking just in terms of ZIP codes or DMAs, AI helps marketers “personify” audiences by layering geography with identity, behaviors, and intent, and then activating creative in the right way and at the right moment.

How can brands integrate hyperlocal CTV campaigns to deliver personalized and relevant content to specific communities?

Hyperlocal targeting ensures that CTV’s scale is paired with cultural relevance. Brands can tailor creative to align with a specific neighborhood, sports market, or community event, which makes messaging feel less like an ad and more like a relevant conversation.

This ability is powerful because video is no longer just a “one-to-many” linear broadcast; it’s a digital canvas where creative can be personalized in the same way display and social ads are. Combining CTV’s reach with hyperlocal precision, brands can deliver highly relevant stories that connect with communities while still operating at scale.

In what ways can hyperlocal data enhance identity-informed targeting, especially as multi-ID strategies become essential post-cookie?

As digital identity becomes more fragmented, multi-ID strategies have become a true necessity to connect with people across devices and channels. However, to remain people-first, these strategies need more than just technical signals. Hyperlocal data provides that missing human layer. It isn’t just geography, it’s a proxy for community, culture, and intent—all things that evoke emotion and provide insight into what matters most to a person. These hyperlocal signals bring a richness and depth to identity strategies that would otherwise feel impersonal in a post-cookie world.

What role can generative AI play in scaling hyperlocal creative production and messaging?

GenAI removes a lot of that “production friction,” which makes it easier to localize at scale. Swapping in landmarks, local offers, or language variations can be automated through frameworks, reducing the cost and time associated with versioning creative.

But local storytelling requires human insight to truly resonate. While AI can handle the mechanics, it’s the creative teams who ensure cultural nuance, authenticity, and alignment with brand values. When done right, GenAI unlocks hyperlocal storytelling at scale, freeing up human creators to focus on the areas where nuance, relevance, and empathy matter the most.

How can first-party data from local customer touchpoints (e.g., stores, events) be integrated into cross-platform identity systems?

First-party data is the gold standard because it starts with a verified relationship between a brand and its customer. Local touchpoints (in-store transactions, loyalty signups, event attendance, etc.) provide powerful seeds for identity expansion.

When these inputs are integrated into cross-platform identity systems, they create cross-channel synergies. One in-store event can inform audience building, fuel lookalike modeling, and strengthen measurement across CTV, digital, and social. It’s about connecting the dots from a local interaction to a cross-channel identity graph.

How should hyperlocal campaign success be defined in the context of full-funnel attribution models?

Hyperlocal marketing is mostly thought of as driving bottom-funnel actions, but that mindset is too narrow. Success should be defined by the ability to create meaningful engagement at every opportunity.

Conversions, loyalty, and brand preference aren’t built with a single ad; they are the result of a continuous dialogue. Hyperlocal insights with the scale of GenAI allows brands to create a multitude of messages with the goal of positioning your brand as meaningful in the context of what the consumer knows, values, and wants. Doing so creates a unified consumer experience and allows for a holistic measurement of success, where every interaction contributes to a long-term relationship, moving beyond last-click outcomes to capture the true value of every impression.

How do global brands manage hyperlocal strategy at scale without losing authenticity or local nuance?

The key is to pair scalable tech with local inputs. AI makes it possible to generate and manage thousands of creative variations, but brands need frameworks that preserve the human element of storytelling.

At Innovid, a Mediaocean company, we enable marketers to run hyperlocal campaigns organically and at scale, ensuring that each variation maintains consistency with the brand’s voice while also reflecting local nuances. Scale doesn’t have to mean sameness. With the right tech and processes, it can mean more relevance.

How can local media and publisher partnerships be leveraged in omnichannel plans to enrich hyperlocal relevance?

Local media and publishers play a critical role in building community trust and context. Partnering with them allows brands to amplify their hyperlocal message within environments that feel authentic to consumers.

These partnerships help strike the right balance. The creative speaks in the right voice, but also in the right context. Integrating local publishers into broader campaigns makes sure that hyperlocal doesn’t feel like an isolated tactic. It becomes part of a cohesive, omnichannel customer experience.

To learn about multi-location brands and customer experience, register now and join us & Mediaocean,  September 3oth for  Street Fight LIVE.