Boomtown, a collective representing 9.8 million people living in regional Australia, has opened registrations for an upcoming Masterclass featuring a panel of senior marketers from Optus, The Speed Agency, and Kennards.

The event, which will run from 10am to 11.30am AEST on Thursday, July 4, will focus on the benefits of regional advertising and provide professional insights into regional audiences.

The Masterclass follows the launch of Boomtown's campaign, 'Population: Unexpected', which celebrates the innovation, diversity, and economic contributions of regional Australia. Brands such as Optus and Kennards, who have experienced the benefits of targeting regional Australians, will share their insights during the event.

Despite the growth of regional Australia, only 17% of national media budgets are invested in the region. Boomtown aims to drive advertising investment in the region by demonstrating to brands and advertisers the potential gains from targeted regional campaigns.

"Our latest Masterclass is an opportunity to continue to reaffirm what we’ve long known about regional Australia – it is an untapped and uncluttered opportunity for advertisers, and a truly ‘unexpected’ place to live," said Boomtown Chairman, Brian Gallagher. "Since our last Masterclass, we’ve launched our Population: Unexpected campaign, which showcases the incredible opportunities in Boomtown and why it’s such a critical market for national brands and advertisers."

Since its inception in 2020, Boomtown's Masterclass series has trained thousands of Australian media, marketing, and advertising executives on the power of regional media. Boomtown represents over a third of the Australian population that lives outside the five metro capitals. Its eight Australian media owner members include SCA, WIN, Seven, ARN, ACM, Nine NBN, News Corp Australia, and Imparja.

"Through this campaign and our Masterclass series, we want to get people talking about regional Australia as a must-invest opportunity for advertising dollars, and also remind people that regional audiences are younger, wealthier, less worried about the cost-of-living crisis, and more digitally savvy than ever, making them a highly attractive audience for brands," said Gallagher.