According to the Q3 2011 HD Advertising Trends Report issued by Extreme Reach, a provider of HD video advertising services, regional auto dealerships and retailers are lagging when it comes to regional HD advertising.

“Most regional TV advertisers are likely aware of the advantages of advertising in HD, but they may not be apprised of the favorable market conditions and recent advancements that make HD campaigns more cost-effective and as easy to execute as SD,” the report found.

And when they say “lagging,” they mean it: Local auto dealerships, the study found, deliver “fewer than six percent of their commercials in HD despite national automotive brands being among the top adopters of HDTV advertising.”

It’s not just car dealers who don’t see the return on the extra investment of HD advertising. Regional dealers across regional retail segments, the study found, avoid it: “Home furnishings ranks lowest among them for HD adoption.”

Who does like using HD advertising among regional firms? Insurance and health care companies, primarily. And it’s not that local TV outlets are allergic to HD. According to the report, 73 percent of local TV outlets in the top 25 markets accept and air HD advertising. But still, only 12 percent of TV commercials distributed to local TV media by regional advertisers are delivered in HD.

The news isn’t all bad. In July, Extreme Reach released a report, “Q2 HD Advertising Trends Report,” showing a 50 percent increase in HD ad distribution over the last six months, a significant shift from the two previous quarters.

Providing HD information for the advertising industry, the company noted that the report examines how the barriers to HD TV advertising (identified in the Q1 report) are decreasing and illustrates the effect of this movement on the advertising industry.

According to a release, one year ago, HD ads made up about 10 percent of all TV ads distributed by advertisers to broadcast and cable media outlets. Currently, that number has doubled to about 20 percent. The increase over the last two quarters is particularly significant because growth in HD advertising was much slower in 2010.