The Local Marketing Trends Podcast

Why has AM/FM radio survived Walkmans, iPods, Pandora, smart speakers and now podcasts? Fresh from a new survey of 30,000 station listeners, longtime radio analyst Fred Jacobs sits in as co-host for Corey and joins Gordon on the debate over why radio lives on. The podcast features an interview with Bill Rose discussing audience measurement and Nielsen's hip new Personal People Meter. Stay in the l...

The pandemic didn't put much wind in newspapers' digital wings. In fact, many saw digital sales go backwards. In this episode, Gordon & Corey talk about how newspaper companies once led the way with digital revenue, and why things have gotten so tough. The podcast features an interview with Darien Southerland, who's trying to get local newspapers into the fast-growing podcast business. Stay in the...

Sure, most of the money local businesses spend on digital advertising goes directly to Google and Facebook. But do you know how much stays in-market? For most, it adds up to tens of millions of dollars up for grabs by local sellers. Corey & Gordon preview the major findings of a new annual report, and bring a guest co-host on board to get his thoughts. The podcast features Todd Handy, Chief Digita...

Advertising has become more complex than ever. And that's spawned one of the biggest opportunities of all for marketers to become trusted advisors to their own customers. But just how smart are you about all things digital? Corey & Gordon quiz each other on a few basic questions, then turn to longtime advertising expert Tim Burke, CEO of Conduit Digital, for his take. Burke talks about helping sel...

Social Media -- especially TikTok -- can be a hotbed of, well.... questionable behavior. So, Corey & Gordon were surprised to find a faith-based local radio broadcaster cultivating a crop of popular young influencers on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. Episode 68 features an interview with Mike Reed, the Salem Media executive who heads up that growing network and whose daughter, Michelle, has a You...

Gordon & Corey have finally figured out what those crazy Gen Z kids have been doing all this time with their smart phones. They've been learning things. Marketing things. Media things -- like how to build an audience of hundreds of thousands of followers. This episode features an interview with a young math teacher from Arkansas whose audiences on TikTok and YouTube beat most of the long-establish...

Sure, a lot of people are quitting their stale, boring advertising jobs. But on the other side of the equation, many companies have made themselves a magnet for new hires. In this episode, Gordon & Corey dissect the nuances of hiring at the local level, and get some tips from SHRM Field Services Director Monique Akanbi on how companies can fulfill diversity & inclusion initiatives by looking inter...

TikTok, Facebook Reels, YouTube, Hulu.... They're all the rage. But how do these video opportunities translate down to local markets? In this episode, Corey and Gordon debate the issue. They also interview Catherine Badalamente, who is about to take over as CEO at Graham Media's TV group after a dozen years heading up its digital initiatives. Stay in the loop with all things Borrell when you join...

A famed advertising guru called 2021's advertising growth a "false storm" and suggested that traditional media companies and ad agencies have 12 months to transform -- or die. Gordon & Corey consult with media transformation expert Scott Anthony from Innosight, who sees two paths ahead. The hosts also tackle major shifts in automotive advertising, which suffered a topsy-turvy two years and seems t...

Gordon's longtime friend and sales guru, Jim Doyle, discuss his new book, Selling with a Servant Heart. After interviewing top sales performers across various industries, Jim channels the art of being client centric, and pushes deeper to generate success. Even Gordon sees the light through his Scrooge-like fog. Stay in the loop with all things Borrell when you join our Research Alert Lists. As alw...

Gordon and Corey keep, oddly, finding themselves in agreement as the two discuss their take on popular 2022 marketing predictions, and the implications on the local level. Maybe it's Gordon's martini and Corey's holiday jolliness, but this topic filled episode is sure to illuminate your curiosities for 2022. Stay in the loop with all things Borrell when you join our Research Alert Lists. As always...

Fresh back from a broadcasting conference in New York, Gordon interviews one of the featured speakers, station owner DuJuan McCoy. Operating two virtual TV channels in Indianapolis, McCoy discusses how his stations produce twice as much local video content and have accumulated a far broader online audience than other stations. Even Corey is impressed. Stay in the loop with all things Borrell when...

Demand has mushroomed for marketing graduates as local businesses clamor for someone to take over all their "owned" media pages. Who are these youngsters, and how will they influence advertising decisions? In this episode, Gordon & Corey talk to a marketing professor and two of his students -- 20-somethings who aren't all that familiar with radio or newspapers or the name of the local TV station....

Car dealers are big wheels in the local advertising world, but things sure have gotten wonky. New and used cars are flying off the lots, leaving dealers feeling as though they don't need to advertise at all. Corey and Gordon explore the phenomenon, interviewing leading car-marketing expert, John Fitzpatrick, from Force Marketing. Stay in the loop with all things Borrell when you join our Research...

The pandemic certainly threw things in a tizzy, but that's only part of the reason the advertising industry can't seem to recruit enough replacements to fill it's 50,000-strong army of sales reps. Corey & Gordon dive into some new findings that may explain the problem, then talk with a master recruiter, Robert Hawthorne, about how companies are overcoming the issue. Stay in the loop with all thing...

Google and Facebook have cracked the do-it-yourself code for local advertisers. Does that mean the days of the local ad-sales rep are numbered? Corey and Gordon dive into recent survey data, then turn to a DIY platform export, Rosie O'Meara from GroundTruth, for answers. Stay in the loop with all things Borrell when you join our Research Alert Lists. As always, thank you for listening. If you like...

Over two decades, well-funded attempts to create hyperlocal news sites have collapsed. But not Patch. In its 14th year, Patch boasts 25 million users across 1,100 local sites, with six consecutive years of double-digit revenue growth and profitability. The company also has a new growth-minded CEO ... which has Corey & Gordon wondering what's next. The podcast features an interview with Warren St....

Mushrooming demand for marketing services has been met with squashing skepticism about profitability. In fact, many see things like reselling SEM or SEO as loss leaders. This episode goes to the front lines by bringing in Daryl Hively from digital services provider Guarantee Digital as a guest co-host. Could markups really be as high as 200%? Gordon drills Daryl on pricing strategies and where the...

COVID-19 drove an influx of digital-only newspaper subscriptions -- many from young adults -- and breathed new life into the struggling newspaper industry. Second-quarter financial results showed many bright spots. Could the industry be turning a corner? In this episode Gordon & Corey check the industry's vital signs and talk with Mike Reed, chairman and CEO of the nation's largest newspaper compa...

Radio groups have been reporting stellar results for digital sales in the first half of 2021. Could the industry have finally gotten its digital mojo? Hosts Gordon & Corey discuss the five-year turnaround, and how one company has become the radio industry's North Star. This podcast features an interview with Bill Wilson, CEO of Townsquare Media. Stay in the loop with all things Borrell when you jo...

When it comes to dealing with sales reps, email is the preferred method -- even when consummating the "buy." So you'd think sellers would be email aces. Au contraire, say Corey & Gordon. And they have proof. This episode features Borrell's director of client development, Taryn Tatarinowicz, who reels off a handful of comments from frustrated ad buyers. Stay in the loop with all things Borrell when...

Almost half of the 5,500 digital agencies in the U.S. are run by media companies, but they're struggling to grow beyond being boutique shops. In this episode, Gordon & Corey preview a new report examining how some agencies have been able to scale operations and embark on a path to become the dominant local agency. The podcast features an interview with Tom Cheli, CEO of Frequence, which contribute...

In this final episode of the series, Corey & Gordon review the lessons learned from failed agencies and ones that are thriving, then turn their attention to the future. Corey's got his own take on what things look like in the 2030s, but Gordon gets a little more radical on a "last man standing" theory. Stay in the loop with all things Borrell when you join our Research Alert Lists. As always, than...

In this second episode of a three-part series, Gordon & Corey ruminate on a few spectacular agency failures from the past but shift focus quickly to success stories. Featured in this episode are interviews with Steven Goldstein from Hubbard Radio's 2060 Digital, Kyle Wirick from Adams Publishing Group's The High Road Agency, and Jason Holmes, who cultivated his own firm, Thrive Fuel, from the ashe...

Digital agencies are all the rage, but not all survive. In this episode, Gordon & Corey embark on the first of a three-part series exploring the phenomenon. Episode 48 interviews three executives from newspaper and TV companies whose agencies failed. They include Mark Poss from Big Fish Works in Red Wing, Minnesota; Chris Edwards from Fusion Farm in Cedar Rapids; and Dan Easton from Advocate Digit...