Local Marketing AutomationTranslating National Strategies into

Local Execution

For franchise organizations, national brands and product manufacturers

Ask yourself the following questions:

o Do your local affiliates/franchisees all have a clear and actionable local marketing strategy that leverages best practices across the entire network?

o Are your marketing and advertising materials currently being distributed to your local affiliates/franchisees in the most effective, cost-efficient manner possible?

o Do you have clear visibility into all local marketing efforts including creative, spend and results?

o Are all local store-marketing efforts implemented by your affiliates/franchisees 100% in concert your national brand?

Final Question: Has your national advertising budget shrunk over the past year?

You are not alone!

Over 87% of marketers from a broad cross-section of categories and industries have reportedly reduced their ad budgets citing the tough economic climate.*

* ANA (Association of National Advertisers)

The Silver Lining….

As the economic climate has changed, locally-produced and customized advertising and marketing has become more commonplace.

Now, your company’s overall success as a brand lies largely with your local affiliates’ and their ability to generate local demand.

Begging the question – what are you doing to help them?

Unsure of how you can help them?

Again, you’re not alone.

Many national brands, product manufacturers and franchisors are currently unsure of how they can – or even IF they can - help their affiliates with their local advertising and marketing efforts.

Local Marketing Today

By in large, national brands are not currently equipped to enable local marketing.

While marketing automation has gained significant traction at a national level, distributed marketers – those responsible for enabling affiliates – have not pushed that capability down to their local markets.

Why not?

The Challenge

The Primary Challenge:

Local Marketing enablement requires a high degree of service delivery, which simply doesn’t scale well without the use of specialized and fully integrated technology.

The Challenge – Solutions?

Given the lack of such a scalable solution, distributed marketers have typically tried to enable local marketing in one of three ways...

Commonly Utilized Solutions

1. Development and Distribution of Creative Assets

2. Multiple Platforms House Various Creative Assets

3. Centralized Development, Planning and Execution

1. Development and Distribution of Creative Assets

In this model, the national brand develops creative assets and distributes them to their affiliates with the assumption that they’ll be used locally.

This is the least effective method because it leaves the affiliate on their own to find vendors, develop local marketing plans, negotiate rates and implement their marketing efforts.

This also puts the national brand at the greatest risk for off-brand messaging and communications.

Commonly Utilized Solutions

2. Multiple Platforms House Various Creative AssetsIn this model, the national brand contracts with a variety of vendors to create platforms where affiliates can access and customize approved marketing materials.

While this model helps to reduce some of the customization and implementation costs on the affiliate, it comes with three major drawbacks…

Commonly Utilized Solutions

Drawbacks:

The affiliate is required to access multiple systems to implement their marketing activities, which significantly hinders affiliate participation and nearly eliminates the possibility of true integrated campaigns.

The organization is tied into specific back-end vendors for fulfillment, which often leads to less-than-desirable pricing and service.

Relies on the local business to provide this high-level strategic perspective thus, lacking a comprehensive strategic approach to the planning and buying of local media and marketing fulfillment

Commonly Utilized Solutions

3. Centralized Development, Planning and Execution

In this model, the national brand manages all marketing material development, strategic media/marketing planning and local-level marketing implementation.

The challenge in this model is that it takes all local knowledge and power out of the hands of the affiliate to affect their local demand generation efforts. Additionally, when the affiliate does try to augment the national efforts, they are not armed with the skills or materials to so effectively.

Commonly Utilized Solutions

So, you may be wondering - If all of these so-called ‘solutions’ have irrefutable drawbacks, what other option(s) are there?

Introducing….

LOCAL MARKETING AUTOMATION

The Ultimate Solution

What is Local Marketing Automation?

Local Marketing Automation (LMA) is a software plus services solution that functions across all mediums to allow distributed marketing organizations to seamlessly translate national strategies into local execution.

Seamlessly integrating technology with services to drive enterprise-level marketing strategy and implementation throughout an affiliate network, Local Marketing Automation is truly a unparalleled platform.

The Ultimate Solution - LMA

What is Local Marketing Automation?

Built on a base of existing brand stature and CRM/customer data, LMA allows distributed marketers to bring enterprise-class marketing management and demand generation tools to franchise, affiliate and dealer networks.

In the LMA model, the national brand delivers all required tools for local marketing success including:

oBrand guidelines,oCreative assetsoMarketing planningoBest practices oCustomer data

These tools are all centered around a cohesive, consistent national strategy - unifying all local activities into one, single effort.

LMA Model - National Brand Delivers

LMA Model - National Brand Delivers

The national brand also delivers the mechanism by which affiliates can swiftly localize strategy and creative assets, across all mediums, to quickly and easily deliver a campaign to the consumer.

LMA Model - National Brand Delivers

All data and insights gleaned from the local marketing efforts are then fed back into the system to drive further enhancement of the overall strategy.

LMA Model - National Brand Delivers

Before implementing a LMA solution, it is important to consider the following four primary components:

Major Components of a LMA Solution

Distribution and Customization of Assets

Local Media and Marketing Planning

Local Media and Marketing Execution

Measurement and Reporting

Distributing creative assets to local affiliates should be quick and cost-effective for the national brand.

Local customization of these creative assets should be simple and inexpensive for the affiliate across all mediums.

Distribution and Customization of Assets

Major Component #1

Placing the burden of local media and marketing planning on affiliates results in marketing campaigns that are often non-strategic and ineffective.

A local media and marketing plan should be comprehensive, painless to implement and in concert with the national brand’s strategy.

Local Media and Marketing Planning

Major Component #2

Did you know? Providing enterprise-class media and marketing planning at the local level can increase local ROI by 30% or more!

Engaging with multiple fulfillment and media vendors across mediums is a daunting and time-consuming task for affiliates.

An effective LMA solution will manage all vendor negotiation and interaction to ensure affiliates are receiving the best quality at the lowest price.

Local Media and Marketing Execution

Major Component #3

Tracking marketing performance at the local level is imperative to driving positive local marketing return-on-investment.

An effect LMA solution will provide all-encompassing measurement and reporting capabilities covering all local marketing activities.

Aggregation and reporting of all marketing activity and platform adoption provides invaluable, business-critical information to the national brand.

Measurement and Reporting

Major Component #4

Built on a base of existing brand stature and CRM/Customer data, these four components work together to provide a comprehensive Local Marketing Automation solution that brings world-class media and marketing to local affiliates.

Distribution and Customization of Assets

Local Media and Marketing Planning

Local Media and Marketing Execution

Measurement and Reporting

Comprehensive Solution

Benefits of a LMA Solution

Organizations that implement a LMA solution enjoy numerous benefits!

Such As….

Directly Increased Revenues

Improving the effectiveness and ROI of local marketing efforts will immediately increase local sales and revenues!

Additionally, a comprehensive LMA solution serves as a key differentiating factor, driving franchise sales and dealer recruitment efforts.

Benefits of a LMA Solution

Drastically Decreased Local Marketing Costs

Distribution and customization costs are dramatically reduced while local creative and production costs are virtually removed.

Additionally, national purchasing power is leveraged across the base of affiliates which, along with professional media negotiation, reducing the net cost of media and fulfillment.

Benefits of a LMA Solution

Reduced Marketing Complexity

A single platform to manage all marketing activities significantly reduces the marketing burden on local affiliates, freeing them up to better manage their business.

All back-end vendor relationships are managed through the solution, which relieves time constraints and pressure on distributed marketing organizations.

Benefits of a LMA Solution

Brand Integrity Maintenance and Fostering

LMA solutions allow national marketing organizations to maintain brand integrity while enabling their affiliates to effectively and efficiently drive local demand generation.

Consistent back-end vendors across the dealer network ensures quality remains consistent and that the brand is always represented accurately.

Benefits of a LMA Solution

Complete Corporate Visibility

Increasing national insight into local marketing activities and campaign results is a critical component to drive a closed-loop national-to-local marketing platform.

The visibility and in-depth customer data that a LMA solution offers provides the national brand with the ability to continually improve up its overall national strategy.

Additionally, such insight also helps to drive strategic and tactical best-practice sharing across the network of affiliates.

Benefits of a LMA Solution

Previously unattainable due to technological constraints and service-scale issues, LMA solutions are poised to transform the manner in which brands translate national strategies into local execution.

Driving enterprise-class media And marketing strategies and execution into local markets can and will increase local marketing Effectiveness and success.

Going Forward

Early trials have demonstrated greater than a 30% increase in local marketing ROI after implementing a LMA solution!

Going Forward

What are you waiting for? If you are a franchise organization, product manufacturer or other national brand with local marketing needs a comprehensive LMA solution will help you effectively and efficiently drive demand at the local level throughout 2010 and into the new decade!

To learn more about local marketing automation visit www.balihoo.com/lma to request our free ‘Local Marketing Automation’ white paper.

Or to schedule a live demonstration of a LMA solution contact Balihoo at (877) 212-8019 – Ext.1