Shane Vaughan

Local will continue to play an increasingly large role in 2012, and national brands will expect their partners and their vendors to deliver clear marketing analytics, both online and off, that can be rolled-up in a comprehensive view of activity and results. 

A recent study by the CMO Council found the following:

• Nearly 49 percent of marketers believe localized marketing is essential to business growth and profitability, particularly as it relates to demand generation and sell-through of products and services.
• Only 36 percent of marketers have a formalized process or system for tracking the impact of national brand advertising on local market development and customer acquisition. Some 61 percent either don’t measure this or have an ad hoc system for tracking national advertising effectiveness.
• For those who do track the impact of national brand advertising on local business performance, the most common methods include:
  • response to offers or deals (45 percent);
  • awareness and recognition studies (41 percent);
  • lead and prospect flow (37 percent);
  • web site analytics (37 percent);
  • field and channel feedback (31 percent);
  • local inquiries and calls (30 percent) and
  • share of market data (28 percent)
• Cable and broadcast television, local magazines, and radio reportedly deliver the lowest return on spend, compared to top performers like local events, direct mail or FSIs, local partner or channel web sites, social networks and electronic messaging.

As the role of local grows, and national brands look to their local affiliates (dealers, distributors, VAR’s) to drive demand, the ability to track metrics across all mediums will become critical.  Beyond 2012, we see this trend heavily impacting the way manufacturer co-op programs are set-up, administrated and in many cases the actual dollar volume available to a local outlet. 

Kick off the new marketing year and join us on Tuesday, January 10th to learn how national brands will capitalize on the evolving local marketing landscape. Register for the webcast.