Large Brands Love the Idea but Hate the Reality of Local Publications

Marketing options are plenty but effectiveness is often lacking. Local publications can be a terrific option.

When we started what was to become Locable as a research project back in January of 2009, we knew we needed to understand the world in which we lived and so we talked to large brands and ad agencies... The sorts of folks that pump 10's or 100's of millions of dollars each and every year into print advertising.

It turned out these conversations significantly influenced our approach and, in fact, what we were actually doing.

By virtue of being students, and MBAs at a fairly prestigious school, we were able to garner an audience with folks that would be much harder to reach otherwise and they shared surprisingly similar sentiments. It would go something like this:

The ability to run locally relevant, locally targeted ads in publications that are relevant and well read? Sure, we love the but we have 3 main issues.

1. They hate media buying! - let me say that again, "they hate media buying!!!" - understandably, they  didn't want to spend their multi-million dollar annual budget a few thousand dollars at a time
2. The publications they buy ads in have to have verified circulation
3. They didn't want to buy ads - they wanted to buy 'engagement'

All three of these elements were impactful but they each had different implications.

First, we had no idea that these firms had such disdain for buying media.

We figured the idea of working with ten's or hundreds of publishers was a major reason they didn't engage with local magazines but that they hated it, in general, was shocking. It also meant that we had a great opportunity to remove tedious tasks from their to-do list and thus make them happy.

We knew that if we could get big enough we could offer them a bulk buy that was both high-value and pain-free... we even coined the phrase "Reach without the Waste."

Ad networks, however, are not novel by any stretch of the imagination.

They've existed for decades or longer and even on the internet, they're plentiful.

It turns out, the real value here is providing more promotional opportunities for advertisers than mere banner ads while driving more premium revenue for publishers in the process... most network buys are remnant in nature and thus low-value.

Second, verifying the publishers reach and audience.

We'd already talked to many local publishers who'd expressed an interest in an audit but couldn't afford one from the big-4 or their free distribution didn't fit with the traditional audit. 

In the time since audits have evolved, newer price points have emerged and this is less of a concern though many large agencies still require a 3rd party verification.

Finally, ENGAGEMENT.

What this really means is that brands want to be a part of the conversation in print, online, social, mobile and at events.

They don't want "just an ad."

Well, most local publications don't exactly have stellar digital presences and their traffic and engagement online is quite lacking.

This is what ultimately led us to Locable and it was a tougher nut to crack, or rather figuring out what Locable should be was more of a challenge.

Nevertheless, we're now able to empower publishers to deliver incredible engagement with advertisers large and small and as a result of our digital efforts, we're now able to better attract large regional and national advertisers.

Let me put that another way.

If you don't do the web well and have significant value to offer advertisers you don't have a chance to attract most large advertisers in print! There may be exceptions but as rules-of-thumb go this is a good one.

We may seem like a broken record but the best way to grow your business is to help your local advertisers tell their story and connect with their target audience... and the best way to have a desirable audience is to give the community a reason to congregate around your brand - online.

If you do this well, then you can diversify your revenue stream, enjoy much larger margins that come from digital and serve larger advertisers by becoming an attractive option.

Ironically, the better you do online to grow your brand and digital revenue the less preoccupied you'll become with large brands as a means of growing your business.

Do you want to learn more about how you can grow your audience online, generate content that goes viral and extends your reach, or simply how to monetize your digital presence (even without significant traffic)? Contact us to schedule a Locable Program Overview and we'll show you how we work with other publishers to efficiently grow their business.