Gordon Borrell , Borrell Associates

Dramatic shifts in how businesses market themselves have forged a new local media landscape. Gordon Borrell profiles the new disruptors who are poised to dominate and offers a scene-setter to the two days ahead.

Gian Fulgoni, comScore

Gian Fulgoni of comScore will describe today’s multi-media path to purchase and show what can happen when traditional media incorporates digital into the consumer offering. When combined, one plus one can equal three. Usage of one medium doesn’t subtract from another. In fact, ComScore’s research shows that use of digital media in conjunction with a traditional one can vastly increase usage across the board.

Local media is undergoing a revolution. Newspapers and yellow pages are challenged by costs of paper and delivery, while the efficiency of the “one-to-many” broadcasting model is challenged by the new media world of niches. Seth Godin, one of America’s foremost marketing gurus, offers his perspective on what’s happening and how these challenges have opened up tremendous opportunities.

Chip Perry, President & CEO
No doubt about it – Autotrader.com is a category killer. In 2011 it surpassed $1 billion in revenue, making it the largest local online advertising company outside of the major pureplay portals like Google and Yahoo. In 2012 it filed for a $300 million IPO. The company is now setting its sights on how it might sell cars directly to consumers and conquer the automotive marketing space.

Nathan Hanks, president & co-founder

ReachLocal has been one of the primary disruptors on the local scene. In less than 10 years, it has grown to become one of the largest local online marketing companies with more than 800 sales reps in 50 offices across the U.S. and 2012 revenue growth of 22%, surpassing $400 million. Its plans for 2013: keep growing, but focus more on selling marketing software to SMBs.

John Trimble, chief revenue officer
Pandora roared onto the advertising scene two years ago and grew revenues more than 60% in 2012, to over $400 million. It has quickly built out a local direct sales force and regularly bumps heads with local radio station sales forces. John Trimble is the guy in the hot seat when it comes to revenues. He’ll describe Pandora’s sales successes and how the company views its position in the local media landscape.

Mike Ghaffary, VP of Business Development

With more than 33 million local reviews and 84 million unique visitors, Yelp is emerging as a formidable force – and it’s ready to partner with local media companies. Its mobile presence is growing rapidly as well, now being used on more than 8 million mobile devices. In 2012 the company was growing revenues at an impressive 65%, surpassing $100 million for the first time.

2:00-2:45: GateHouse Media’s Bold Digital Agency Initiative
Peter Newton, President, GateHouse Ventures

GateHouse Media has broken from the mold of “just another newspaper company with websites” to start a bold initiative called Propel Marketing. The strategy targets non-newspaper advertisers with an array of first-class digital services. The goal: Grow enterprise significantly with separate sales forces.

2:45-3:30: LIN Media’s Success in Digital Services
Robb Richter, Senior Vice President of Digital, LIN Media

LIN Media has consistently grown digital revenues through not only selling web inventory well, but also by offering an array of new services that seems to expand yearly. LIN Media’s local sales force offers solutions including rich media, video, mobile and social media. Its national sales force works directly with top-tier agencies providing unique monetization opportunities. The growing ecosystem has been built for any publisher – desktop or mobile.

3:30-4:15: Gannett's Evolution Into a Digital Marketing Powerhouse
Maria Meadows, Senior Director of Local Digital Sales, East Region, USCP, Gannett
Brooke Zapata, Director of Digital Strategy & Development, USCP, Gannett

While everyone seems to be jumping on the digital services bandwagon, Gannett -- one of the largest newspaper and TV companies in the country -- has been at it for years. Gannett's product offerings include SEO, social media management, web design and mobile design, email marketing and other services to its hundreds of thousands of local customers across the U.S., and the company continues to grow and strengthen its digital offerings.

4:15-5:00: What’s Next for Yahoo’s Media Partnerships
Regan Senkarik, Senior Director of Channel Sales, Yahoo!, Inc

It’s been five years since Yahoo! started signing up newspapers, then TV stations, onto its behavioral-targeted advertising platform. Hundreds inked the deal. So what’s become of the program, and is there still room for partnerships?

2:00-2:45 What SMBs are Planning to Spend on Mobile, and When
Greg Harmon, Sr. Research Analyst, Borrell Associates
Larry Shaw, VP of Research, Borrell Associates

We keep hearing about mobile being a horn of plenty, but where’s the money? To kick off this track, Borrell analysts offer a glimpse of the latest data that indicates something big coming is down the tracks. This session answers the questions of who’s spending on mobile, what are they spending, and how that’s likely to change in the coming year.

2:45-3:30 Belo Leads the Way in Mobile Revenue
Joe Weir, VP of Digital, Belo Corp.
David Karabag Director/Product Management, Belo Corp.

Mobile marketing has generated a lot of headlines, but local media companies seem to have a difficult time generating a lot of money from it. One company that leads the pack is Belo Corp., whose TV stations in St. Louis, Dallas and Portland are among the top performers nationwide when it comes to mobile revenue. Learn how they do it.

3:30-4:15 A Mobile Revenue Model to Watch
Brandon Grosvenor, Sr. VP of Sales, Postmedia Network/National Post

When it comes to mobile sales, Postmedia is a company to watch. This Canadian newspaper company is generating mega-bucks in local mobile advertising sales. In fact, it’s THE top performer among our database of more than 6,000 local media companies. Brandon Grosvenor describes how Postmedia succeeds in generating seven-figure sales where other companies fail.

4:15-5:00 Mobile Strategies: Positioning the Bucket
Nicole Faust, Director of Interactive Media, Meredith Broadcasting

The two earlier sessions in this track focused on two companies making money in the hear-and-now of mobile marketing. Now it’s time to examine a longer-term vision. Hear from top strategists at two local media companies who are planning for the marketing revolution beyond banners and sponsorships. Learn what they’re planning for apps, mobile video, geo-fencing, mobile commerce and other emerging mobile opportunities.

Gordon Borrell Clark Gilbert

Greg Stuart, CEO, Mobile Marketing Association.

Mobile is here and now, but local marketers are having a tough time understanding how to capitalize on the trend. The Mobile Marketing Association is advising marketers that spending 7% of their budgets on mobile marketing, and surveys of SMBs are beginning to show that money has actually begun to flow. How can local media companies participate in the coming mobile bonanza?

Joe Walsh, chairman, Walsh Partners

Of all traditional media, directories have made the quickest transition to digital. They migrated quicker than everyone else to digital “services,” and their massive sales forces have been heavily schooled in selling digital products. Some now derive more than half their gross revenues from digital sales. Joe Walsh, former chairman & CEO of Yellowbook, offers a unique perspective on who stands to win in the competitive race for local online advertising dollars.

David Krantz, CEO

At nearly 5,000 strong, YP operates what is perhaps the largest local advertising sales force in the nation. That has helped it transform from a print yellow pages company from the former AT&T directory days to a multibillion dollar print-and-digital market force. David Krantz, one of the industries’ most brilliant marketing strategists, describes how YP’s digital revenues climbed to over $1 billion this year, and what’s in store as the company accelerates its mobile plans in 2013.

Dan Levy, Director of Small Business, Facebook

There’s no doubt that Facebook has woven itself in to the fabric of the American public and stolen attention from traditional media readership and viewership. It’s now headed for the jugular – local advertising dollars. Dan Levy heads up Facebook’s initiatives to tap into the SMBs and will describe how the company is working directly, and through partners, to serve their marketing needs.

Warren Webster, president

Patch stepped up its efforts in 2012 to drive ad sales across its vast network of local news and information sites. Many have doubted its survival, but revenues nearly doubled in 2012 and 100 sites turned profitable. Warren Webster, Patch’s first employee and current president, tells what’s in store for 2013 as the company dives deeper into local marketing budgets.

Each year we select an industry executive to receive the Innovator of the Year Award. Typically presented to a top local media executive, the award recognizes outstanding leadership in guiding an organization through disruption and taking risks to create new opportunities.

Peter Conti Jr. as Moderator

Back by popular demand, this top-of-the-morning session is sure to get the adrenalin pumping. The session will feature 10 four-minute case studies delivered by some of our exhibitors. No sales pitches – just “show us what you got” in four minutes or less. One of the highest-rates session of our 2012 conference, the Buzz Session highlights the most dramatic examples of revenue-generating ideas instituted by local media companies.

Gordon McLeod, president, Krux Digital
Josh Wexler, senior vice president of market development, Rubicon Project

RTB, or Real-Time Bidding, portends to disrupt digital publishers by corralling advertisers into one buying pool and relegating them to mere pageview providers. If RTB takes off, it could be a bonanza of ad dollars for local web and mobile publishers, or it could be a bust that compresses CPMs and leaves many in the dust. You won’t want to miss this session. RTB already accounts for more than 10% of all online display, and is growing rapidly.

Gordon Borrell, CEO, Borrell Associates
Colby Atwood, president, Borrell Associates
Clark Gilbert, CEO, Deseret Media

What are the most important things to monitor when it comes to digital ventures? This session takes a close look at profits (are they believable?) and offers an extremely useful took – the Digital Dashboard. The dashboard was first unveiled at our 2012 conference, to great enthusiasm. Many companies incorporated it. Clark Gilbert and his team at Deseret Media took the dashboard to new levels and made it interactive. This session will end with what successful companies monitor most, and the metrics to gauge whether you’re maintaining, progressing, or leading the local digital space in your market.