MyTurf Incorporated

In 1702 the first newspaper

advertisement was published

in the Boston News-Letter; it

was an announcement seek-

ing a buyer for a local estate.

Over 300 years later, busi-

nesses are still using local

advertising to find buyers for

their products. Today, we

have an entire industry dedi-

cated to spreading messaging

designed to compel the

reader to take an action.

From Volney Palmer to Madi-

son Avenue to Digital Ads,

advertising has changed for-

mats over the years, but the

bottom line remains the

same: inspire a desired ac-

tion.

Technology has empowered a

communication world where

geography is of little to no

relevance. However, most

shoppers still prefer to buy in

a local store. Thus, the impor-

tance of local advertising is

just as important now as ever.

With millions of dollars spent

on advertising annually,

measuring the results is more

important than ever too.

But, it’s impossible to track

the actual impressions an ad

in a newspaper gets. Some-

times an in-store coupon can

help businesses measure how

effective their ads and calls to

actions are, but even then you

aren’t accounting for a huge

percentage of the population

that may see, but not act on

an ad. Digital ads are trace-

able and more easily ex-

panded.

For over 200 years, print ads

served as one of the best

ways for businesses to com-

municate with their consum-

ers, especially at the local

level. Then, the Internet

linked advertisers and con-

sumers together in a more

direct way than ever before.

With digital ads, an agency or

business can actually track

how many times an ad was

seen or clicked, as opposed

to a newspaper ad. Finally, in

1999, internet advertising

breaks $2 billion dollars and

continues to grow, lead by

Procter and Gamble.

Today, from an entire world

down to a specific neighbor-

hood – the logistics of local

advertising online are still in

development. While invasive

behavioral tracking leave

consumers wary of Internet

privacy, there are ways to

effectively target local con-

sumers with relevant ads.

One way includes posting ads

only in a specific region, as

defined by an Internet pro-

vider. This could be a mall,

airport, city, or specific zip

codes.

The Advertising landscape

has radically changed over

the past 300 years, but the

bottom line remains the same

– motivate consumers to take

an action. Online, Advertisers

can track each impression

and action, but will there be

much to track if ads aren’t

relevant? Advertisers don’t

have to rely on invasive be-

havioral targeting if they go

through Internet providers to

deliver ads where they are

most relevant – at the loca-

tion where purchases happen.

Volume 1 , Issue 1

T H E P RO G R E S S I O N O F L O C A L A DV E R T I S I N G

September 20,2012

A F E W K E Y M I L E -

S T O N E S O N T H E P A T H F R O M P R I N T

T O D I G I T A L L O -

C A L L Y - R E L E V A N T A D S

• The First Newspaper Ads

appeared in the early 1700s. Ben Franklin was instrumen-tal in propelling “new adver-tisements” in Philadelphia local publications.

• Volney B. Palmer establishes

the “modern agency” and buys vast amounts of news-paper ad space at a dis-counted rate and then resold that space to local advertis-ers.

• Magazine ads began ap-

pearing in the late 1700s, which lead to the first con-vention of advertising agents in 1873.

• In 1938 radio advertising

spend surpassed magazines for the first time.

• Out of Home (OOH) and

point of purchase (PoP) begin to underscore the importance of reaching cus-tomers where and when they are actually making deci-sions.

FROM PALMER TO PUBLISHERS

S O U R C E S : H T T P : / / A D A G E . C O M / A R T I C L E / S P E C I A L - R E P O R T - T H E - A D V E R T I S I N G

- C E N T U R Y / A D - A G E - A D V E R T I S I N G - C E N T U R Y - T I M E L I N E / 1 4 3 6 6 1 /