Madison Avenue Needs to Think About a .1 Mile Radius
Madison Avenue has long been code for the advertising industry. But, as we know, most agencies are no longer located on that iconic street. In fact, some agencies don’t even have physical offices these days. That doesn’t mean agencies no longer need to think about location!
Actually, it’s quite the opposite. Locations are more important than ever before for consumers. A whopping 98 percent use local searches to find businesses, products, and services nearby.
No matter how big a brand is and how clever its award-winning creative campaigns may be, if a consumer can’t find a nearby location, if the product is out-of-stock or the hours are wrong, or if the reviews are bad (or unanswered), that ad spend is money down the drain.
Sadly, many agencies still believe that the timeliness and accuracy of hyper-local search is something they don’t need to worry about.
“The brand’s IT department takes care of that,” they may think. Or…
“Isn’t that just part of SEO?”
Wrong!
The reality is that hyper-local search optimization is more important than ever, as we use our small screens to plan every trip and purchase decision in our lives.
CMOs and agency planners alike need to start spending some time “inside the sausage factory” to understand how people find what they’re looking for in their own neighborhoods and streets. They complain about how Amazon is squashing their business or why their traffic is down in their brick-and-mortar locations. Yet, they don’t create meaningful incentives for driving or walking to their local businesses.
What was once a “Street Fight” between SMBs and major brands has now become a battle for the share of eyeballs and visits on our mobile devices.
That’s why Street Fight is hosting two sessions this year within the Place Conference and why every New York City area agency should be there.
Of course, Google will be there too, and you can find out how, and you may be able to learn why your client’s brand is not appearing on that little consumer screen.
So, whether your marketing agency is still on Madison Avenue (perhaps in a co-working space now) or you’re working from your bedroom in New Jersey, Long Island, or the burbs, come down to the Sheraton on November 7th.
(And, if you ARE working from your bedroom, we suggest you change out of your jammies and at least put on that obligatory agency tee shirt and hoodie! You might feel out-of-place otherwise at our rooftop cocktail party that night.)
Register here and use code FON, as in Friend of Nancy. (Or get in touch with me directly for a super-special limited quantity deal).
