What is local and what does it mean for my brand?
I used to work for a newspaper company where the mantra was local, local, local. The resources they had were in their area, including sales and content generation, so it was natural for them to focus in such a way. The question in my mind is what it means for small businesses and other companies.
My answer is both everything and nothing. The relevance of local depends on your strategy. If you sell furniture, people in your area are likely the only sales prospects that you have. People rarely ship furniture and to do so is quite expensive. If you are a start-up brand with limited distribution as of yet, local may matter quite a lot. Cooperative advertising with your distribution partners can be a cost effective means for building your brand.
For others it might mean nothing at all. If your product can be shipped easily, and uses direct response channels like telesales and the internet, local media channels are nearly irrelevant.
The next question is what is the best way to tap into local. Newspapers are obviously one, and even with their well chronicled decline they still reach vast numbers of people on a daily basis. Split run advertising as with “zoned” products can bring the cost of entry to a reasonable level. Outdoor is also a possibility, but messages need to be very simple to be effective.
The most interesting possibilities are those of event marketing on a local level. Playing a memorable part in local events can both establish you as a member of the community and reach your target quite effectively. Donating a prize to a Church raffle can reach quite a number of people and position your company in a positive light. A table at a local street party can get people to sample your product and create new customers nearly instantly. These tend to be high risk endeavors, as they either are very successful or go completely unnoticed. The same advice applies here as with any other marketing. Establish a concrete goal and be relentless about matching the tactic to it. For one example, having your logo on a gift bag is superfluous if you want your product to be sampled.
