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The Local Focus
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Mar 3, 2009 by Mark MaierSean has wrote about it, Paul has posted comments supporting it, yet again we are placing our attention on local content paired with local advertising equalling local ad budgets that can grow. Diane Mermigas of MediaPost brings her local views into play in an interactive focussed article "Digital Partnerships Could Revive, Energize Local Media". I couldn't agree more with the premise for generating hyperlocal news and information that impacts your audience and in turn impact your bottom line...."Local news, interests and connections between consumers and advertisers are at the heart of both the failing traditional media saddled with legacy costs and the nimble Web-based contenders. The value of all things local has been woefully underestimated. It has been devalued in print and television, which can't quite make the leap to digital, and botched on the Internet--where it seems impossible to capitalize on the hyperpersonal in bloggers and tweeters run amok.
What could be more relevant than what is going on in consumers' own backyard? Institutional media (newspapers and TV stations) has failed to connect with local as it is being redefined by consumers who are obsessing over the interactive ME-dia they care about most: their needs, family and friends.
"The future of local is intensely personal. It is about what is within 1,000 feet of where you stand. Local is centered on the individual," says Outside.in CEO Mark Josephson."
Finding the right business model to add the technology to your offerings of a Radio or Television property will define the results of success or failure.....
"The result is an explosion of new local business models that combines advertiser geotargeting, equal parts curator-aggregator content, and a viral approach to community service right down to a neighborhood block. They are the only way out for hemorrhaging local newspapers and TV stations, and a prerequisite for future growth. The local media ad spend will dip to $136 billion in 2010 with one-third of total revenues eventually tied to digitally generated performance data rather than CPMs or subscriptions, according to BIA and the Kelsey Group.
The shift of core ad dollars to digital could be even more pronounced if the major traditional media are not able to integrate new interactive products into their bundle. Holding on to advertiser and consumers isn't enough; everyone must be interactively engaged.
That is why monetizable connections to individual consumers are the new critical mass for ad-supported media. They are captured with free content and social networking, and charged for products and services. (So much for the notion of online newspaper micropayments or Cablevision's planned gate fee for Newsday.)"
Diane has suggested some very helpful keys to having success in the interactive realm, the challenge now is to find ways to integrate them into what you do now, which can be more dificult and not as profitable, or create a new property to maximize your investment.
