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RSSHow do you find most local businesses and services? Well if you are reading this, most of you will say online. Of course, as I have said before, you and I aren't the norm, dear readers -- or are we?
EMarketer just released a report, "Local Online Advertising: Measuring the Market."
According to the report, eMarketer projects that local online advertising spending in the U.S. will reach $2.9 billion in 2007. That represents only 13.4% of the total Internet market. The market is anticipated to accelerate to approximately $5 million more by 2011.
When I think of local advertising, I must admit it bores me. I'd rather do national with a local footprint. After thinking about it some more, I (respectfully) think it is due to the fact that there aren't a lot of creative opportunities these properties bring to the table. Most of these companies haven't even figured it out yet. Come on, guys -- you have the audience and the people are loyal as hell, now do something.
Sure, local advertising online is small now -- but just you wait and see how up-and-coming it will be.
Also potential growth factors (according to eMarketer) include just the sheer number of people who are online nowadays, along with:
-- The fact that small and mid-size companies are now advertising online.
-- The increased use of local Internet sites and services by individuals (i.e., local search).
-- The development of local online ad networks connected with local media, such as newspapers.
Just think about it. It seems every day we read how traditional local radio and media outlets are hurting. The business isn't what it used to be. Many won't sustain an advertising model, as they haven't modernized to offer online advertising opportunities, let alone some sort of cross-platform deal. You would have thought they'd have done this oh, say, 10 years ago. It's a shame, too. I think about the genuine loyalty of local media listenership/viewership, and it makes sense. It makes people feel close to home. Give them what they need and they are happy. Don't give them what they need, and they spend less time or almost no time with you.
"As audiences continue migrating to the Web and away from traditional local media such as newspapers and radio, it's only a matter of time before online local ad spend catches up with today's reality," says David Hallerman, senior analyst and author of the report.
This potential growth will no doubt appeal to the big guys as well as the small ones. It's no surprise that large search engines like Google and Yahoo are already there. We've been buying paid placement search on a local level for years now. It isn't sexy stuff, but hot damn -- it works!
Have you noticed local listings companies (like Yellow Book) are doing a lot of promotion of yellow pages, etc. as a viable means to advertise online locally? Ironically, in the greater Boston area promotions urge local businesses to advertise in the Yellow Pages to reach qualified local customers. Ironically most of the ads I've noticed are on radio or on billboards.
So do you believe that local online advertising will be a hotbed of opportunities? What would you want from local media in order to ink a deal? Post to the Spin blog and come on, baby, do the local motion.
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Yes, local portals are popping up everywhere. 10 years ago, I never thought it would become such a hugh demand by consumers. Yet, as we all know, most sme's have not yet utilized its opportunity to promote themselves within their local service area.
So it is obvious that few if anyone has yet provided a real solution for local sme's.
As I had stated earlier, we are preparing to launch such a solution. Through our patented system, from the way it is marketed to the way our local system works.
The key word here is Patented. You can view the patent at the link, to the USPTO, located at the bottom of ShopNTown's web site.
We have partnered with General Patent Corporation International to enforce our patent. As they are now in the process of preparing their due diligence of local search firms to identify potential infringments.
And I can tell you the numbers are in the hundreds. Even though they are only going to focus on a few, no doubts, for presidence in court.
My point, it is the responsiblity of every company to research patents before going forward with any technical solution. To invest shareholders money and time that is already the intellectual property of others can be costly to that company.
So do your homework. Inovation is driven by ownership and part of what makes America the land of opportunity.
Good questions. One can look at local sites in two manners:
a) utilizing a local publisher to reach a local audience; or
b) utilizing a collection of local sites to deliver a national message
In our "Digital Tearsheets" section, there are a blend of both. The common element between the two strategies is the advertiser's goal was to be associated with great content on well-respected publishers that carry an affinity to the local consumer. For instance, although movies are national in scope, they're "local" in the decision making process. In other words, when I'm on a local site there's a much greater chance I'm thinking about my life and what I'm going to be doing this weekend. Hence, a better environment for movie studios, retailers and auto manufacturers versus a national news site.
Good point with respect to reach: please note all the campaigns listed on the Digital Tearsheet site had supporting IAB units throughout each of the sites on the plan to achieve both high impact and reach.
Thanks for the questions and opportunity to clarify.
Sincerely, Shawn
On another note, good use of tear-sheets. Were these frequency campaigns? I noticed a large majority of them didn't take advantage of your "4000 site" database (as you primarily enlisted top sites, many that gain national audiences) for these buys? That type of creative may have benefited from a bit more reach along with more-targeted sections (rather than a majority of "Home-page" placements).
Sincerely, Josh Jacobsen
Remember all of the hype about 'integrated marketing campaigns' some 5+ years ago? Well, the funny thing is - they are finally here and can be executed in some really awesome ways (online, on-air, on-text, etc.). "There is gold in them thar hills"...just make sure you have the right people in place to lead the expedition!
In terms of why this is, I agree with the comment above about the age of many of these business owners. Many Boomers aren't yet as tuned in to this method of promotion as I'm sure they will be soon.
I think another part of the problem is the nature of local business. It feels much more "word-of-mouth" and "referral" based. When you want a plumber you don't want any plumber. You want one that your neighbor Joe recommends. That's why I think that approaches like Yelp.com may actually pave the way for more investment in local online advertising.
If you're interested in the other report I mentioned, I blogged about it on my Plugging In blog. I hope you'll stop by!
Stephanie Vance
Thanks for your column highlighting "local". The eMarketer report is accurate with respect to the growth rate local is experiencing.
I must also agree with Tessa's comments regarding the "creativity" of local websites. In fact, local websites are more flexible and can deliver a more compelling creative execution than national sites can at a local level. For some great examples of "high impact" creative on local publishers, please visit www.centro.net/tearsheet/. This site showcases very cool creative on local sites from Paramount Pictures, Coors Light, General Motors, Lionsgate Films, Toyota, Discover Card, Nike, CNN, 20th Century Fox, Blackberry, etc.
Finally, with respect to "I'd rather do national with a local footprint", many agencies and media planners have realized geo-targeting through national sites isn't the smartest way to "go local" for their clients. It may have been the easiest way a few years ago, but it definitely was never the best.
Let's think about it: what's the most "creative" local campaign you can do through a network or a portal? An expandable banner? You can't do a homepage Sliding Billboard or Corner Peelback ad in Texas on a portal or through a national network. However, you CAN do a homepage Sliding Billboard or Corner Peelback on ALL of the top local sites in Texas. And, my apologies for being self-serving here, but Centro has pulled together over 4,000 local sites in our efficient platform that makes "going local" just as easy (and many times “easier�) than trying to geo-target through a network of national sites. What used to take two weeks to strategize and implement can now be executed in a few hours. I know because we do this every day for well over 100 agencies and their clients.
Add to this the halo effect of having one's brand and advertising message appear on local sites that have personal relevance to consumers and we have all the underpinnings for a very successful local campaign. After all, people care more about what's going on in their backyard than what's going on across the world. Local websites including those of newspapers, TV stations, city magazines, alternative weeklies, business publications and radio stations are the only options that help you reach consumers next to the content they care about most.
Sincerely, Shawn Riegsecker Chairman and CEO Centro
Perhaps I'd agree with your assertions on Local if eMarketer actually had projected only $5M growth in the next four years, as stated in your column. Thing is....the projection is $5 BILLION growth.
So, maybe that means you're only off by a factor of 1,000 - on both the projected growth, and the opportunity in Local.
Cheers - Mark
So today, after 10 years of preparations and patent in hand, we are ready to launch a TRUE local solution that will be available in every Zip Code of the US.
It is designed to empower local businesses to compete with the Amazon's of the Internet within their own Neighborhood with a simple subscription.
As we prepare our launch, in beta testing, we developed two fantastic videos. One that define our local services and the second, opportunies for those who have contacts with local commerce linked below.
Our tour http://shopntown.com/ShopNTownTour.php
The opportunity http://www.accelacast.com/programs/shopntown_agents/
I would love to hear feedback other then "there is no content" We are in beta testing, so that is the explination of no content.
Thank you Seana for your much needed attention to this industry.
Newspaper sites offer a great opportunity to expand reach as the audience can be largely unduplicated from the print audience. As radio station sites gain audience, it becomes a cross platform opportunity to augment a spot schedule.
More and more local sites are starting to "get it" with sponsorship opportunities on regular e-newsletters to their opt in subscribers. These have proven very effective in delivering ROI. We have successfully partnered this way with both newspaper and radio station sites.
The major thing sites need to do is to promote themselves more agressively to drive traffic to the site. Radio stations in particular spend lots of money on sites then do little to promote them on-air. Stations particularly in smaller markets need to be more agressive in selling the cross platform opportunities as a total package.
I must agree with Tessa in that the aforementioned companies and agencies like LION New Media are fully capable of exploiting various creative opportunities on local sites. While many of the smaller publishers are still getting up to speed from a technology standpoint, if you know which companies to work with you can avoid the grueling task of guiding them through that process while simultaneously enjoying the benefit of a local, targeted audience.
Sincerely, Josh
I have to disagree that local publishers don't bring a lot of creative opportunities to the table. Look at companies like Fox Interactive, Clear Channel and Centro -- there isn't much you can't do working through them in terms of rich media, integrated sponsorships, and of course, cross-platform campaigns. The *only* issue from where I sit is that most marketers don't yet realize that.
Cheers, Tessa