Localogy held their annual conference in Coronado Bay, California, in April 2023. Brands focused on serving SMB clients gathered to learn the latest advancements in AI, social media, and digital media regulations.
Here are some of the key topics and top takeaways for local marketers that were unable to attend the conference in real life.
Local Marketing for Brands
Our Chief Global Officer, Paula Carren, led a panel called “Local Media Marketing: The Brand Experience” with our client, Sergio Apodaca, of UScellular. They reviewed what’s working best in 2023 for local marketers, how to align a corporate brand with a localized one, and how to make the most of a budget at any size.
Sergio shared that his team is focused on performance and analytics, and this rang true of all of the brands in attendance at Localogy 23. This year is all about intentional spending on performance marketing that drives proven results.
Location Data Privacy
Vin Sharma of Foursquare shared his perspective on a panel called “Location Intelligence in a Privacy-First World”, that location-based targeting and analytics aren’t going away but instead are evolving to meet regulatory requirements.
Brands want to be cautious about operating legally regarding CCPA, COPA, GDPR, and the million other acronyms that spell doom to the era of cookies and pre-iOS 14.5 analytics. In the same session, Gravy Analytics CPO, Jason Sarfati, shared that friction points are only going to increase for marketers tracking device locations.
Leveraging AI in Local Marketing
An entire half-day of the conference was dedicated to sessions around AI advancements and all of the brands developing new technologies in this space.
The CDO of Yext, Christian Ward, led a full session on the evolution of AI over the last five years and the rapid emergence of new brands leveraging AI. Locafy and RenderSEO added to the AI conversation by discussing if AI will spell the end for SEO and paid search, and Microsoft shared how SMBs can leverage generative AI for their advertising needs. Wrapping up the AI conversation, Copy.AI presented with Uberall and Local SEO Guide on how AI will hurt Google’s search revenue.
Attendees were whisked away on a Yext yacht to see the San Diego skyline at sunset while conversations about AI advancements and local media marketing continued all night.
Although BrandMuscle didn’t present our AI technology at Localogy, if you’re thinking about AI solutions for channel and local marketing, I highly suggest taking a peek at BrandMuscle.ai. Our latest innovations allow brands to scale marketing effectiveness while keeping brand and legal compliance top of mind.
Social Media Marketing
On day two, I joined a panel discussion on “The Art of Social Media” with SOCI CMO, Monica Ho, and Matchcraft CEO, Sandy Lohr. The trio discussed everything wrong with TikTok for local marketing utilization, how to define ROAS with paid social and ROI with organic social media, and which platforms are emerging as the best option for local marketers.
When asked what’s next for social media, the panel was quick to talk about AI localizing content for enterprises with local branches, and the continued relevancy of hyper-local influencer marketing.
Later, TikTok presented on their advertiser platform for SMBs and with breaking news that zip-code level marketing has finally reached the beta test stage for marketers.
Continue the Local Marketing Conversation
Want to continue the local marketing conversation with our Localogy 23 panelists? We’d love to hear from you! Talk to a local marketing expert today.
