Digital Minds Luncheon Recap by Cheryl Pruitt

WOW. What a treasure trove of information we got at the recent AWM Luncheon where the topic of the day was Digital Minds Discuss Developing Local Digital Dollars in DFW. We had over 100 in attendance with lots of time for mixing and mingling before we got to hear some of the brightest “digital” minds in this area. The high profile panel discussion was moderated by Cyndy Carr, Sr. VP of Sales for DMN Media, the marketing solutions group of The Dallas Morning News. Panelists included:

• Sam Bloom, SVP Interactive Media, Camelot Communications
• Shawn Gurn, Director of Digital Media, Moroch Partners
• Tony Bishop, Director, CBS DFW Digital Sales
• Richard Jones, Digital Director, DMN Media
• Dan Llana, Vice President - Media & Business Strategy, McCarthy Advertising, Dallas Texas

First on the podium though was Jennifer Moore, Manager, Strategic Accounts, eMarketer Digital Intelligence. Jennifer was kind enough to share the slides from her presentation with us (available at the bottom of the page).  So I’m attaching them here for you to look over. According to Jennifer, 90% of national brands are looking to expand their local presence and have requested geo-targeted ads. Estimates for growth in US local ad spend share range around 19% in the next couple of years(research from Borrell and BIA/Kelsy). Jennifer left us with some key takeaways regarding local online advertising.

• Reinforce brand presence locally where expectations for immediacy and relevancy supersede branding. Consumers use local search for quick access to local businesses as well as community news and information. Here, the first and most relevant brand to capture their attention will win.
• Local search, mobile devices, daily deals and hyperlocal communities will drive consumers—and ad dollars—to local online. As consumers turn to these local information sources en masse, local online advertising will be there to meet them.

A lively discussion followed with these DFW leaders. Their passion for their industry and respective  companies  mixed with their commitment to providing top-notch service to their clients made for an informative and inspiring lunchtime event. I saw lots of folks catching up with former colleagues, meeting some new ones and basically having a great time networking.

We’ll include more from this panel discussion in our blog area so keep checking back.

Thanks to all those who donated door prizes and the AWM Board for making this event a huge success.

Cheryl Pruitt
Sales and Marketing Consultant
DMNmedia
The marketing solutions group for The Dallas Morning News.
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