Search Starts Here: Focus on Transformation
The Local Search Association and BIA/Kelsey have assembled an agenda for this year’s Search Starts Here conference (April 21-24 in Boca Raton) that focuses heavily on industry transformation. The agenda features 17 sessions with more than 20 speakers representing 17 companies, including Argent Media, AT&T Interactive, BIA/Kelsey, Burke Research, Convergent Mobile, Dex One, Google, MapQuest, MediaTrax, Search Influence, SuperMedia, Telmetrics, The Berry Co. and more.
The overarching question driving this event is, how can global directories companies break out of traditional media structures that were once a source of strength, but which now make transitioning the business so difficult?
We will hear many voices weigh in on this question. Some will represent industry players in the midst of this struggle, like Dex One CEO Alfred Mockett, who will sit for a “Fireside Chat” on Monday, April 23. Others will be contrarian, viewing the spectacle from the outside, like search industry entrepreneur and thought leader Chris Silver Smith, who will offer his take in an executive interview later that same morning.
Here are some other sessions that will address transformation at Search Starts Here:
Monday, April 23
In 2017: A Retrospective View of the Future of Local Search
What will Yellow Pages look like in five years? BIA/Kelsey analysts Matt Booth and Charles Laughlin will answer this frequently asked question in a much different way by placing themselves five years into the future, describing the world in 2017 and then tracing back the steps taken to get there.Tuesday, April 24
Reinventing the Directory Organization
We will hear case studies from global directory and local search organizations that have made bold moves to go beyond cosmetic changes to truly transform their businesses. This will be a thought-provoking session for publishers dealing with change management.Speakers: Peter Buxton, Principal, Buxton Independent Consulting
Kathy Geiger-Schwab, Chief of Transformation, Be Transformed Inc.
Trevor Nadeau, Managing Director, Yellow Medya