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
william doust on 20 Nov 09"FEED: The 2009 Razorfish Digital Brand Experience Report. As you may or may not know, FEED is Razorfish's annual consumer behavior report that traditionally charts how consumers are adopting new internet technologies and digital services. This year we changed tack and focused our efforts on understanding how digital is changing the way that consumers interact with brands. What did we find out? Experience matters. A lot. So much so that experiences are becoming the new advertising or marketing. And these experiences are having an inordinate amount of impact on how consumers perceive a brand and ultimately purchase products. Moreover, we also found that consumers are actively engaged with brands across the entire digital spectrum. Consumers may be in control but so are brands which are so deeply embedded in the culture that consumers can't imagine not making them a part of their world - on Facebook, Twitter or even their own blogs."