Neg Norton Discusses LSA|14's Focus on 'Last Mile Advertising'

BIA/Kelsey and the Local Search Association have been working together on conferences since 1992, when most people thought print Yellow Pages, like newspapers, would continue to be a growth engine forever.

Much has changed in the directory publishing and local search space since then. Through it all, our organizations have continued to work together in a variety of ways on each other’s events.

With LSA’s next event, LSA|14 coming up April 27-29, in Huntington Beach, California, it seemed to be the perfect time to check in with Neg Norton, who has been the LSA President for more than 10 years. I was about to ask him some dull question about his objectives for the conferences when he jumped in with some background about the exciting new area LSA sees the business going in — “Last Mile Advertising.”

Those of us who come from the telecommunications industry remember “Last Mile” as the final leg of networks delivering communications connectivity to customers. There is an obvious parallel to how local advertising works, Neg said. Last Mile Advertising reflects locally targeted ads or messages that are delivered close to the point of purchase and facilitate consumer actions.

So, just what is Last Mile Advertising? Neg sees it as broader than local search advertising, and he explains it this way: There are three segments that make up the Last Mile Advertising universe: Discover, Seek and Consider.

In the Discover segment, consumers are informed about a business and its products or services that they didn’t necessarily know were available and/or didn’t plan on purchasing. Consumers are attracted to this segment via digital and mobile ad networks, location-based apps, daily deals, email marketing, coupons, and other awareness-building advertising.

In the Seek segment, consumers are ready-to-buy, but are actively looking for a specific business that can sell them the product and service they want to purchase. In most cases, their queries are tied to a geographic location. Local advertisers use print and online directories, mobile apps, search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM.)

In the Consider segment, consumers are considering a purchase, but want more information on the business, product or service they’ve identified. Consumers engage in this segment by browsing business websites, social media pages, online reviews, and videos.

Neg’s point is that there is no clear path to purchase and that is what will be explored at LSA|14. He is excited about their keynote speaker, Steve Wozniak, their partners and their Ad to Action Awards. He will also announce some new board members from well-known companies (HINT: someone who works for the best known brand name in the world).

It looks like a great event.

LSA is offering a 10 percent discount on registration with promo code BIA10.