Think globally, act locally is not just a political slogan. It’s also a marketing goal that global brands want to accomplish more efficiently. The challenge of buying local media, however, is that it’s always been a spot market, which makes it hard to target. MediaSpan, based in Research Triangle Park, N.C., has created an ad network platform designed to make local targeting easier. “For years we’ve provided local publishers and broadcasters with content management, back office, and Web development tools,” says Chief Marketing Officer Mark Zagorski. “The logical next step was to provide delivery and tracking of a variety of ad units, including streaming audio, podcasting, online display, and classifieds.” MediaSpan offers a one-stop interface for advertisers to buy prime online inventory from the Web sites of more than 1,100 local media in 300 markets. The service enables marketers to geo-target locally, regionally, and nationally, and also demographically by station format. “Local media makes a perfect fit for advertisers that want an environment that gives them a real relationship with the community,” Zagorski says. “If a big consumer packaged goods brand wants to buy a certain mix of stations in the Southwest, for instance, to target soccer moms, it can now buy as many locally targeted Adult Contemporary stations as it wants with a single point of contact and single invoice.”