Viamedia Fusion: Local Media Success in 2026

For local businesses, Viamedia Fusion pulls your television and digital advertising into one platform, which is a huge improvement over trying to manage siloed campaigns. This guide walks through the exact steps for setting up and running a campaign in Fusion.

Accessing the Viamedia Fusion Platform

First thing’s first: you have to log into the Viamedia Fusion platform. It’s a web-based interface where you’ll manage your integrated campaigns, so you’ll need the credentials your Viamedia account rep gave you.

1. Navigate to the Login Page: Open your browser and type in fusion.viamedia.com. I’ve had the best luck using Chrome or Firefox. They seem to be the most stable.
2. Enter Credentials: Type your Username and Password in the boxes. They are case-sensitive, so watch out for that.
3. Click ‘Sign In’: Once you’ve put in your details, hit the ‘Sign In’ button. If you’re stuck, there’s a ‘Forgot Password?’ link that will get you back on track.

Pro Tip: Bookmark the Page

Seriously, bookmark fusion.viamedia.com because you’ll be there a lot. I’d also make sure your browser’s password autofill is locked down, especially if you’re juggling multiple client accounts.

Common Mistake: Expired Sessions

The platform uses a session timeout for security. If you leave a tab open without doing anything for a while, it’ll probably log you out. Just sign back in. It’s a small price to pay for keeping accounts secure.

Expected Outcome: Dashboard Access

A successful login drops you onto your main Dashboard. This is your command center, giving you a quick look at active campaigns, recent performance numbers, and shortcuts to modules for Campaign Management, Reporting, and Audience Segmentation.

Defining Your Target Audience Segments

Good advertising requires knowing exactly who you’re talking to, and Viamedia Fusion’s Audience Segments module is where you dial that in. It’s about getting down to specific behaviors and interests, well beyond just broad demographics.

1. Navigate to Audience Segments: Find Audience Segments in the left-hand navigation pane on your Dashboard and click it. This takes you to the audience builder.
2. Create New Segment: Look for the ‘+ New Segment’ button, which is usually in the top right, and click it. You’ll have to name your segment something descriptive so you can find it later, like “Atlanta Small Business Owners” or “Marietta Home Renovation Enthusiasts.”
3. Configure Demographics: Inside the segment editor, go to the Demographics tab. This is where you can set parameters like:
   • Age Range: Use the sliders or just type in the min/max age, for example, 25 to 54.
   • Gender: Pick ‘Male’, ‘Female’, or ‘All’.
   • Household Income: Select from the income brackets provided.
   • Education Level: You can even specify a desired education level if it matters for your product.
4. Specify Geographic Location: Flip over to the Location tab.
   • Radius Targeting: Type in a specific address (like 123 Peachtree St NE, Atlanta, GA) and then set a radius in miles. A local restaurant could easily target a 5-mile radius around the Ansley Mall in Midtown Atlanta.
   • DMA/Zip Code Targeting: You can also select entire Designated Market Areas (DMAs) or just punch in a list of zip codes (e.g., 30309, 30305 for Buckhead and Midtown).
   • Neighborhood Selection: For hyper-local campaigns, the platform lets you get super granular by selecting specific neighborhoods or even drawing your own custom shapes on a map, which is perfect for targeting businesses just within the Westside Provisions District.
5. Add Behavioral and Interest Data: The Interests & Behaviors tab is where you layer on third-party data. Viamedia gives you access to categories like ‘Auto Enthusiasts’, ‘Home & Garden’, or ‘Travel Seekers’. Pick the ones that match your campaign goals.
6. Save Segment: After you’ve set all your filters, just hit the ‘Save Segment’ button.

Pro Tip: Layering Segments

Don’t just make one broad segment. Create a few highly specific ones and then combine them for a campaign. For example, you could target people who are in both your “High-Income Homeowners in Fulton County” segment and your “Golf Enthusiasts” segment. That kind of layering is how you stop wasting ad spend.

Common Mistake: Over-segmentation

Being precise is good, but if you make your audience too narrow, your reach will be tiny and your costs will go up. Keep an eye on the estimated audience size that the platform shows you as you add filters. If that number drops below 50,000 for a broad local campaign, you should probably loosen some of your criteria.

Expected Outcome: Defined Audience Ready for Campaign

Now you have a well-defined audience segment saved in the platform, and you’ll be able to grab it when you’re building out your media plan.

Building Your Integrated Media Plan

With your audience locked in, it’s time to build the media plan that integrates your local TV and digital ads. This is where you’ll set your budgets, pick your channels, and define the campaign’s flight dates.

1. Access Campaign Management: Go to Campaigns from the left navigation on your Dashboard. Then click the ‘+ New Campaign’ button.
2. Campaign Details: Fill out the basics: a Campaign Name, the Advertiser, and your Campaign Dates (both start and end).
3. Select Audience Segment: In the ‘Audience’ section, find and select the specific audience segment you just built.
4. Configure TV Advertising: Jump to the TV Channels tab.
   • Channel Selection: A list of available local cable and broadcast channels for your chosen DMA will appear. Pick the channels you want to run on (like WSB-TV, WXIA-TV, or specific cable networks like ESPN or HGTV).
   • Dayparts and Programs: You can specify dayparts (think “Prime Time” or “Early Morning”) or even target specific programs if you’re doing spot buys.
   • Budget Allocation: Assign a chunk of your total budget to TV. The platform lets you set this to spend daily, weekly, or over the month.
   • Frequency Capping: Set a frequency cap to control how many times one person sees your TV ad in a certain period (e.g., 3 times a week) to avoid annoying them.
5. Configure Digital Advertising: Now switch over to the Digital Inventory tab.
   • Digital Channel Selection: Here you choose from different types of digital inventory:
     • Connected TV (CTV): Pick streaming services or genres where your ads can show up on smart TVs.
     • Display Advertising: Select ad networks for your banner ads to run on websites.
     • Pre-Roll/Mid-Roll Video: Target video content across different platforms.
     • Mobile App Advertising: Reach people while they’re using apps on their phones.
   • Geographic Targeting Refinement: Even with a primary geo-target for the audience, the digital side lets you refine that reach further, maybe by excluding certain zip codes within your larger target area.
   • Budget Allocation: Allocate the rest of your budget to these digital components.
   • Bidding Strategy: Choose how you want to pay, whether it’s Cost Per Mille (CPM) to buy impressions or Cost Per Click (CPC) to pay for clicks.
   • Frequency Capping: Just like with TV, set caps for your digital ads to manage how often people see them.
6. Upload Creative Assets: Go to the Creative Assets section to upload your TV spots (usually .MOV or .MP4 files) and your digital ads (like .JPGs, .PNGs, or video files). Pay attention to the required specs for resolution and file size.
7. Review and Launch: Look over the entire plan one last time. Are the budgets, targeting, and creatives all correct? If so, click ‘Launch Campaign’.

Pro Tip: A/B Test Creatives

Especially for your digital ads, upload a few different versions of your creative. The platform’s built-in A/B testing will automatically start favoring the one that performs better, which saves you a lot of manual work and guesswork.

Common Mistake: Disconnected Messaging

Don’t make the classic mistake of having your TV and digital ads say completely different things. The whole point of an integrated campaign is reinforcement, so make sure your creative assets share a consistent brand message and call to action across every channel.

Expected Outcome: Live Campaign

Your campaign is now scheduled to go live on its start date. The platform will take it from here, serving your ads to the audience you defined across all the TV and digital channels you selected.

Monitoring Campaign Performance and Analytics

Launching is just step one. Now you have to constantly monitor your campaign to make sure the strategy is actually working. The Viamedia Fusion platform’s Analytics Dashboard is where this happens.

1. Access the Analytics Dashboard: On the main Dashboard, find and click on Analytics & Reporting in the left navigation.
2. Select Campaign: Use the dropdown or search bar to pick the campaign you want to look at.
3. Review Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): The dashboard is packed with metrics, but these are the ones that actually matter:
   • Impressions: The total times your ads were shown.
   • Reach: How many unique people saw your ad.
   • Frequency: The average number of times each unique person saw your ad.
   • Click-Through Rate (CTR): For digital ads, this is the percentage of people who clicked your ad after seeing it. A high CTR means your creative is hitting the mark. A 2024 eMarketer report on digital ad performance noted an average CTR for display ads at 0.46%, with video ads getting closer to 1.5%, so you can benchmark against that.
   • Conversion Rate: The percentage of people who did what you wanted them to do (like fill out a form or buy something) after seeing the ad. This requires some tracking setup on your website.
   • Cost Per Acquisition (CPA): Your average cost to get one new customer or lead.
   • View-Through Rate (VTR): For video ads, this tells you how many people watched the whole thing.
4. Filter Data: Use the filters to slice up the data by time (like ‘Last 7 Days’), ad type (TV vs. Digital), or even by a specific creative.
5. Export Reports: There’s usually an ‘Export Data’ button that lets you download the data as a CSV or PDF, which is great for digging deeper or for client presentations.

Pro Tip: Set Up Custom Alerts

Most modern platforms, Fusion included, let you create custom alerts. I always set up email notifications for big performance shifts, like a sudden drop in CTR or a CPA that’s spiking. This enables proactive optimization.

Common Mistake: Focusing Solely on Impressions

Impressions are a vanity metric unless they lead to real engagement or conversions. A huge impression number looks nice on a report, but you need to prioritize metrics like CTR, conversion rate, and CPA because those are tied directly to your business goals. A ton of impressions with a low CTR just means your targeting is off or your ad is boring.

Expected Outcome: Data-Driven Insights

After digging through the data, you’ll have a clear picture of which parts of your campaign are working and which aren’t. This data is exactly what you need to inform your optimization efforts.

Optimizing Your Campaign for Better Results

Alright, you have the performance data. The final step is using it to make strategic adjustments that improve your campaign’s results. Viamedia Fusion gives you several Optimization Tools to help with this.

1. Adjust Budget Allocation: If your analytics dashboard shows that digital is crushing TV on CPA, it’s a no-brainer to shift more of your budget there. Just go back to the Campaign Management section and edit the budget splits in your ‘Media Plan’.
2. Refine Audience Targeting: If some demographics aren’t performing, go back to the Audience Segments module. You might need to exclude an age group or get more specific with your behavioral filters. For instance, if your “Marietta Home Renovation Enthusiasts” segment is flopping, maybe you narrow it to only those with a declared interest in Kitchen Remodeling.
3. A/B Test Creative Assets: Keep testing. Upload new ad copy, new images, and different calls to action into the Creative Assets section of your campaign. The platform lets you monitor them and pause the losers directly.
4. Adjust Bidding Strategies: For the digital side, play around with your bidding. If you’re on a CPM model, maybe switch to CPC to make sure you’re only paying for actual clicks, which makes sense if brand awareness isn’t your main goal. You can find these settings in the ‘Digital Inventory’ tab.
5. Modify Frequency Caps: Is your frequency metric really high while your CTR is dropping? That’s ad fatigue. Lower the frequency cap. On the other hand, if your reach is high but frequency is low, you might need to bump the cap up so your message has a chance to sink in.
6. Schedule Ad Delivery: Look at your data to see when people are engaging most. Once you find those peak times, you can go into the ‘Dayparts’ or ‘Ad Scheduling’ options and concentrate your TV and digital spend during those high-impact windows.

Pro Tip: The 80/20 Rule

Apply the 80/20 rule: find the 20% of your channels, creatives, or audience segments that are driving 80% of your results and double down on them. At the same time, be quick to cut the elements that are just wasting money. Be efficient with your marketing budget.

Common Mistake: Impulsive Changes

Don’t make knee-jerk changes. After you tweak something, give it enough time to collect meaningful data before you decide if it worked, a good rule of thumb is at least 5-7 days. Ignore small fluctuations. Look for sustained shifts in your key metrics before acting again.

Expected Outcome: Improved ROI

This whole process of continuous optimization should lead to better KPIs across the board. That means a higher return on your ad spend and a much more effective local media presence.

Getting good at Viamedia Fusion lets local businesses run integrated marketing with real precision. By defining audiences, building smart media plans, and constantly optimizing with real-time data, you can build a stronger presence in your local market and get measurable results.