Google has been launching lots of products to carry its search dominance into a mobile world. Given that 4 out of 5 mobile minutes happen in-app, this sidesteps the very place where its dominance has been established: the browser. We recently had the chance to talk to Google about its vision (video below).

This ties in with things we’ve examined recently such as deep linking and push notifications. Google Now is also a key product the company is building for app-based local discovery and commerce. Many of these products were advanced and clarified during last week’s I/O conference.

Google’s Brendon Kraham is close to all of this, as the guy in charge of “building and developing Google’s next $1 Billion+ ad businesses.” That’s is obviously a big task and Kraham is examining lots of ways to extend Google’s capabilities, data and search dominance into this new mobile-oriented world.

In addition to the above products, this involves carrying forward Google’s legacy of innovation in performance-based local ads. In mobile, that translates to offline attribution, a la Estimated Total Conversions. This is just one way Google is planting its flag in the next decade’s ad equation.

“It’s still early, but I can see the future that is coming and even now we have the proxy metrics of ‘did somebody go into a store’,” Kraham told us, “and actually closing the loop with third party data partners for a store transaction. It just takes a bit more heavy lifting to get those insights.”

The video of his presentation and fireside chat is embedded below.

The post What Does the Next Era of Local Search Look Like? (Video) appeared first on BIA/Kelsey - Local Media Watch.

Though “mopocalypse’s” impact didn’t live up to its hype, mobile website optimization remains critical. That’s particularly true for multi-location businesses that compete in several different markets at once. It’s all about getting data cleansed and organized.

That plays out in lots of ways, which we examined with Placeable during a session at BIA/Kelsey NATIONAL. The company has a good perspective as it works directly with lots of brands to get their location data and localized marketing strategies in order.

You can see my interview with the company embedded below, as well as chapter links that take you to each of the five “tips” we went over for optimizing multi-location campaigns. Stay tuned for lots more conference video footage.

Video chapter links

Multi-location marketing: who’s doing it best
Tip #1: Create landing pages for every location
Tip #2: Ways to make sure landing pages are complete and accurate
Tip #3: Make sure offers and promotions are refreshed often
Tip #4: Include comprehensive reviews and sources
Tip #5: Mobile landing pages: how to navigate mopocalypse
Conclusions & takeaways

The post Conference Video: Five Tips for Localized Mobile Marketing appeared first on BIA/Kelsey - Local Media Watch.

All eyes are on Facebook when it comes to localized marketing. This was pronounced in the company’s recent revelation that 40 million SMBs now have active Pages (2 million advertise). And BIA/Kelsey’s own survey data indicate that social is the most prevalent marketing channel.

The biggest drivers for this according to Czaja are reach and targeting. More than 1 billion people use Facebook daily, the vast majority via mobile.  As for targeting, it’s more accurate on Facebook than most other digital media he asserted. This involves lots of granular audience profiling.

“We’re talking about real people and not cookies,” he said, adding that businesses can enhance targeting by “bringing their own data onto Facebook” for retargeting. FB can also target look-alike audiences with similar characteristics to a brand’s existing customers or target audience.

The full session video is below.

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Content and intelligence drive results in social media marketing according to SOCi founder and CEO Afif Khoury. He presented findings during a segment on social media at BIA/Kelsey NATIONAL (video below). This takes form in an actionable six-step process.

Social media continues to come in proximity with localized marketing, shown most recently by Facebook’s announcement that 40 million SMBs now have active Pages. And BIA/Kelsey’s own survey data indicate that social is the most prevalent marketing channel.

But the opportunity is greater among national advertisers that are increasingly localizing campaigns. National entities are generally more adoptive than SMBs when it comes to emerging media like social. And their size makes branding (conducive to social media) critical.

The why has largely been made evident, per the above and lots of evidence in the marketplace for social’s collision with local. The remaining question is how, and that’s where we’re seeing lots of experimentation and standards development from companies like SOCi.

“Most national brands seem to think they can capture a national audience with a single page,” said Khoury. “What they’re leaving behind is the hundreds of local pages that are getting reviews, getting comments, getting activity, but there’s nobody there.”

The session clip is embedded below and stay tuned for much more conference video and highlights.

The post Conference Video: SOCi's Six Steps to Social-Local Marketing appeared first on BIA/Kelsey - Local Media Watch.

Wearables, smart homes and trying not to be creepy… these were the topics of a fireside chat with PwC’s Daniel Eckert. Stepping back from the day-to-day tactics of local content and ad delivery, we invited the big thinker to BIA/Kelsey NATIONAL to discuss the macro trends driving tech & media (video below).

As PwC’s Emerging Technology Group CTO, his role is to do just that — spot emerging trends and historical cycles to triangulate where under-recognized pockets of innovation and wealth will sprout. As market watchers ourselves, we love this discussion and had the chance to riff on stage with Eckert.

The video is embedded below: Part two of the series that covers the fireside chat that followed his keynote (part one is here).

The post Conference Video: PwC's Futurist-View on Local Media, Part 2 appeared first on BIA/Kelsey - Local Media Watch.

Stepping back from the day-to-day tactics of content and ad delivery, what are the macro trends driving tech & media worlds? This was a question we sought to answer at BIA/Kelsey NATIONAL by inviting big-thinker Daniel Eckert to Keynote (video below).

As PwC’s Emerging Technology Group CTO, his role is to do just that — spot emerging trends and historical cycles to triangulate where under-recognized pockets of innovation and wealth will sprout. As market watchers ourselves, we love this discussion and had the chance to riff on stage with Eckert.

The video of his presentation is embedded below: Part one of a two-part series that will also include the adjoining fireside chat. Stay tuned for that next week.

The post Conference Video: PwC's Futurist-View on Local Media appeared first on BIA/Kelsey - Local Media Watch.

Facebook is felt by some to have the potential to dominate SMB online advertising because of its incredibly high organic usage. But the challenge to drive even more SMB advertisers remains. The company currently reports that it has 40 million SMBs with Facebook pages around the world. Two million SMBs are paid advertisers, or five percent of its SMB page holders.

Today, Facebook unveiled several new small business support programs that it hopes will boost its SMB conversion rates. These include a series of local SMB events, the launch of self serve tools and chat and email support.

We got a hint of what was to come during the March 25 keynote by Facebook Director of Small Business Jon Czaja at BIA/Kelsey NATIONAL in Dallas. During his keynote, Czaja emphasized that Facebook can lift sales results for SMBs by a high percentage if it is added to traditional media ad campaigns.

He also asserted that Facebook does well on its own. He noted that Facebook’s accuracy for narrowly targeted online campaigns is 89 percent, or more than twice as high as the industry’s 38 percent average. Advertising on Facebook provides $8 back for every dollar invested, and a 12x boost in conversion, Czaja suggested.

While Facebook heavily emphasizes self serve for SMBs because they demand it, it is also eager to partner with agencies and others, adds Czaja. “Facebook can’t build everything itself. If there are other partners out there to build on our platform and encourage better performance, then advertisers will be able to choose to go to Facebook or an agency. It’s an ‘All-of-the-Above’ strategy.”

The post Facebook Focuses Hard(er) on Small Business appeared first on BIA/Kelsey - Local Media Watch.

Despite all of the excitement around location based mobile advertising, the dirty little secret is that it’s tempered by the accuracy of the location signal… which is often wildly inaccurate.

Following our podcast with ThinNear founder and former CEO Eli Portnoy, we had the chance to catch up with Hilary Maitland at BIA/Kelsey NATIONAL last month to discuss the firm’s latest Location Score Index.

“When an app creates advertising calls, they can [report] location to however many decimals of accuracy they want,” said Maitland. “That location can come from multiple sources.So if you want to be accurate, you have to understand where that location data is coming from and is it actually where you’re stated.”

More importantly we looked at a few ThinkNear case studies of what can be expected when location is done right. There are clear performance deltas between good and bad practices. This follows our similar discussion with xAd’s Dan Hight about what some of those best practices look like.

The video is embedded below and we’ll have lots more on this topic in ongoing coverage of location-based mobile advertising.

The post Conference Video: The Importance of Accurate Location Data appeared first on BIA/Kelsey - Local Media Watch.

Video is now available for purchase from the third and most evolved edition of BIA/Kelsey NATIONAL, which took place March 25-27 in Dallas. At the show, we saw that industry leaders were in general agreement that major progress has been made among all the stakeholders in “national marketing, local targeting.” Many speed bumps, however, are still being felt along the way. Key stakeholders, including agencies, media companies, franchises and local franchisees are, by necessity, transforming their identifies as they adjust to the new digital (and mobile) marketplace.

During our Chairman’s Session that closed the show on Day 3, Houston Chronicle, Yahoo and Fox Interactive Media vet Warren Kay, Speakeasy CEO Mike Orren, SuperPages vet Robyn Rose and 3rd Act Marketing CEO Gregg Stewart provided their summary insights into four key topics in “national marketing, local targeting.” Among them:

1. The time is finally ripe for National Local. Research by the CMO Council — cited by BizHive’s Dave Walker — noted that 57% of CMOs say that local programs are important, but only 7% of CMOs have a successful program in place. Success, however, will soon become more apparent.

National local programs are “at the beginning of becoming the next big thing,” said Orren. “If there was a graph that showed where innovation and cost effectiveness begin to make sense for local, the line has now begun to be crossed.”

“Scar tissue” remains from the “embarrassment and disappointment” of early local marketing efforts, added Warren Kay. But now “informed decision makers really understand national local, and how they might apply the type of budget they have. That will drive the local marketing space in the future.”

2. Media and directory companies are transitioning to the new environment. Local newspapers and directories still play a real role in targeting locally — and regionally. But they are also being forced to re-evaluate their core strengths.

It is a simple admission to note that many advertisers really aren’t getting ROI from the traditional products, notes Robyn Rose. But they can reposition themselves by providing consultative services with their advertisers. “You really have to understand your partners. If you are targeting local or franchise locations, for instance, you need vertical and regional experts,” she says.

Mike Orren notes that media companies are well positioned to guide and sell local businesses and even national business in their market. But they can’t get “hung up” over moving their own inventory. Their core assets are not their product, but their “brand, reputation and feet on the street,” he says.

Gregg Stewart says that the key thing is that media companies are now being judged entirely on their effectiveness. “At the end of the day, the advertiser doesn’t care if (the media is) local or not. They want to sell something. They will look at whatever they can buy that is fastest and cheapest,” he says.

3. Some things are automated, and some things are not. Relying solely on automation and “air coverage” doesn’t work at every level, especially in local.

“There is a paradox in local,” says Gregg Stewart. Marketers build their attack the CMO level. Programmatic sales and other automation are highly effective for doing that, he says. But you need to also execute work with door to door sales.

“Companies need to understand the partnership with sales and marketing,” adds Warren Kay. They must ultimately collaborate to leverage customer insights and customize aspects of the marketing campaign. Companies such as Simpli.fi, for instance, do very well in developing content marketing programs to complement their programmatic sales.

4. Platforms can bring local franchisees in line, and also liberate them. Brands are “schizophrenic” from top to bottom, with the national brand representing one thing, and each local outlet representing something else. The question is to what degree is it healthy to have “local franchisee stars act like franchise choir boys” — as Yext’s Christian Ward put it.

“The trend with national organizations is to get more control,” says Gregg Stewart. “The stakes are too high. I see that as a trend for a while, until we get these things figured out.”

But franchises should do everything they can to encourage local innovation. “You need local stars,” says Rose. “You need to figure out how to embrace them, not bring them into everything. You need to get everyone else to emulate their success.”

The post The Chairman's Session at BIA/Kelsey NATIONAL: The Top Four Things to Know appeared first on BIA/Kelsey - Local Media Watch.

Video is now available for purchase from the third and most evolved edition of BIA/Kelsey NATIONAL, which took place March 25-27 in Dallas. At the show, we saw that industry leaders were in general agreement that major progress has been made among all the stakeholders in “national marketing, local targeting.” Many speed bumps, however, are still being felt along the way. Key stakeholders, including agencies, media companies, franchises and local franchisees are, by necessity, transforming their identifies as they adjust to the new digital (and mobile) marketplace.

During our Chairman’s Session that closed the show on Day 3, Houston Chronicle, Yahoo and Fox Interactive Media vet Warren Kay, Speakeasy CEO Mike Orren, SuperPages vet Robyn Rose and 3rd Act Marketing CEO Gregg Stewart provided their summary insights into four key topics in “national marketing, local targeting.” Among them:

1. The time is finally ripe for National Local. Research by the CMO Council — cited by BizHive’s Dave Walker — noted that 57% of CMOs say that local programs are important, but only 7% of CMOs have a successful program in place. Success, however, will soon become more apparent.

National local programs are “at the beginning of becoming the next big thing,” said Orren. “If there was a graph that showed where innovation and cost effectiveness begin to make sense for local, the line has now begun to be crossed.”

“Scar tissue” remains from the “embarrassment and disappointment” of early local marketing efforts, added Warren Kay. But now “informed decision makers really understand national local, and how they might apply the type of budget they have. That will drive the local marketing space in the future.”

2. Media and directory companies are transitioning to the new environment. Local newspapers and directories still play a real role in targeting locally — and regionally. But they are also being forced to re-evaluate their core strengths.

It is a simple admission to note that many advertisers really aren’t getting ROI from the traditional products, notes Robyn Rose. But they can reposition themselves by providing consultative services with their advertisers. “You really have to understand your partners. If you are targeting local or franchise locations, for instance, you need vertical and regional experts,” she says.

Mike Orren notes that media companies are well positioned to guide and sell local businesses and even national business in their market. But they can’t get “hung up” over moving their own inventory. Their core assets are not their product, but their “brand, reputation and feet on the street,” he says.

Gregg Stewart says that the key thing is that media companies are now being judged entirely on their effectiveness. “At the end of the day, the advertiser doesn’t care if (the media is) local or not. They want to sell something. They will look at whatever they can buy that is fastest and cheapest,” he says.

3. Some things are automated, and some things are not. Relying solely on automation and “air coverage” doesn’t work at every level, especially in local.

“There is a paradox in local,” says Gregg Stewart. Marketers build their attack the CMO level. Programmatic sales and other automation are highly effective for doing that, he says. But you need to also execute work with door to door sales.

“Companies need to understand the partnership with sales and marketing,” adds Warren Kay. They must ultimately collaborate to leverage customer insights and customize aspects of the marketing campaign. Companies such as Simpli.fi, for instance, do very well in developing content marketing programs to complement their programmatic sales.

4. Platforms can bring local franchisees in line, and also liberate them. Brands are “schizophrenic” from top to bottom, with the national brand representing one thing, and each local outlet representing something else. The question is to what degree is it healthy to have “local franchisee stars act like franchise choir boys” — as Yext’s Christian Ward put it.

“The trend with national organizations is to get more control,” says Gregg Stewart. “The stakes are too high. I see that as a trend for a while, until we get these things figured out.”

But franchises should do everything they can to encourage local innovation. “You need local stars,” says Rose. “You need to figure out how to embrace them, not bring them into everything. You need to get everyone else to emulate their success.”

The post The Chairman’s Session at BIA/Kelsey NATIONAL: The Top Four Things to Know appeared first on BIA/Kelsey - Local Media Watch.