Developing an Integrated Local Media Strategy
Developing an Integrated Local Media Strategy talked about many components of an integrated local strategy, but left out one important thing: what that strategy might be. The main problem was that all of the panelists represented a local media/marketing vendor, but there was no one to represent the strategic position that would utilize them. Each of the speakers could clearly explain the value proposition of their individual products and really tried to tie into how it would fit into an integrated strategy, but in the end there wasn’t a single discussion about how one might go about developing a strategy or examples of an integrated strategy presented.
The speakers, Warren Kay (Yahoo), Fred Lebolt (Sun Times Group), Shawn Riegsecker (Centro), and Marc Barach (Ingenio) each presented their products and how they relate to local advertising/media. I think this was valuable as concepts like pay-per-call (Ingenio) and Yahoo’s local search offerings are very new and simple things like advertising in community newspapers is something often forgotten in today’s online focused world, but without a strategic perspective to help show how you might take each of these elements and combine them into an effective strategy, I don’t think the session lived up to its title. The title should have been, New Options for Local Advertising. Moderator Rich Gordon did a good job of trying to keep the conversation moving, but in the end it was really just a presentation of each of the speakers companies and product offerings.
Ad:tech needed a little more truth in advertising for this session. I think it would still have had a good audience, and possibly a larger one if they had just said that the speakers were going to share with you their product offerings and how some people have used them. Ad:tech should continue to explore local media and advertising, but next time bring in someone from an agency or in-house marketing team who works with local media to bring it all together.
