Consumers seek out hyperlocal information
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Chef cooks up creative financing

Consumers seek out hyperlocal information

Consumers may have the world at their fingertips, but what’s around the corner is often still a mystery. As the world is flattening, consumers are taking a renewed interest in local content—and the media world is responding. Consumers are placing equal importance on information from across the globe—and the news from right down the block. The broad view is shifting back to narrow. A recent study by the Pew Research Center shows that almost two-thirds of American newspapers publish less foreign news than they did three years ago and half of all papers said they had increased the amount of state and local news they published, especially “hyperlocal” community news. On TV, the FCC is entertaining proposals that would require stations to broadcast from their cities of license and convene community boards to contribute to programming decisions. According to the FCC, TV stations benefit because local content will help them differentiate from and compete with new media outlets like YouTube. In 2007, Verizon’s FiOS started a 24-hour local-focused TV channel in the Washington, DC area that features the show Push-Pause, which focuses on local residents. Other operators like Cablevision and Comcast have rolled out services like local programming on demand.

News programming is also turning to the people. WKAG, an independent station in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, streamed 16 high school graduations on WKAG.com for those who couldn’t attend the ceremonies. Each of Hearst-Argyle Television’s local stations has a dedicated YouTube channel. Consumers are becoming mini Edward R. Murrows by creating the local news themselves, from CNN’s iReporter offerings to news stations seeking tips from viewers for story fodder. To wit: St. Petersburg, Florida-based CBS affiliate WTSP agreed to train viewers and pay $20 per clip for ten stories every three months. The Internet provides local laser focus for Web surfers. Sites like Yelp provide restaurant reviews from friends and neighbors, EveryBlock is an info hub with “geographic filters” that narrow down cities to neighborhood blocks, and the search tools at Praized enable anyone to incorporate community reviews into a Web page. Don’t think that local isn’t going mobile: Mobile technology apps like Fire Eagle, Loopt and NowLocal for the iPhone use GPS to provide location-based news, recommendations and even social networking. Think of it as hyper-relevant content for the exact spot a consumer is standing in.

ISM recognizes that information overload is hitting consumers on every front and many will turn to trusted sources with insider knowledge—e.g., other locals—for guidance. So think globally, but act locally. While the Internet bridges geographic distances, some consumers will seek out like minds in close proximity to effect change. Who cares more about a ‘hood than those who live there? The consumer desire for information and content that expressly hits home is virtually bottomless.

According to a December 2008 study by the Center for Economic and Entrepreneurial Literacy (CEEL), most Americans don’t understand basic economic principles and practices. More than half of CEEL’s respondents didn’t know what a subprime mortgage is, nor what a FICO credit rating is for. The mind-block even runs to basic math skills. 65% of respondents could not calculate the result of subtracting 25% from the number 8. A third could not calculate 1% of 50,000. Never mind macroeconomics. Many, perhaps most, Americans are woefully undereducated on matters of simple personal finance. But Americans are also legendary for self-reinvention, and there are encouraging signs that the Great Recession is driving them in droves to credit counselors and financial advisors. Nowhere has this need to educate been more embraced than in a new program started by McDonald’s, who have partnered with Visa to offer all employees a free financial literacy program. The McDonald’s Practical Money Skills initiative will be made available to more than 500,000 employees at the restaurant level, making it the single largest employer-based financial literacy program ever launched. ISM sees McDonald’s initiative is a savvy play to contribute to the Gross National Happiness and a win-win for the company as a whole. It’s something we think more companies should contemplate, not only for their employees but even for their customers. We’re all in this together and a little knowledge in this economy could go a long way to improve the situation.

Religious Americans have put the economic crisis at the top of their prayers. In October 2008, the Christian devotional magazine Guideposts surveyed 2,500 readers. It asked them “What are you praying for these days?” The most common answer was “financial relief” followed distantly by “the United States and our leaders.” And 15% of respondents said they’re praying for a new job. Together with those praying for financial relief, half of all Guideposts readers are talking to God about personal money worries. Christians have more options than ever for worldly financial counseling. Many churches and faith communities today offer religious financial counseling, especially as it relates to family stress. The emotional stress of economic trouble can send even the most agnostic consumer looking for a Higher Power. Religious impulses are amplified by tough times. Church attendance surges in the wake of national tragedies and crises. That’s because people feel out of control and they return to stabilizing traditions and beliefs. ISM says it won’t be long before smart marketers find new ways to follow their customers and create carefully designed programs to partner with houses of worship so that they support a worthy cause without being overtly commercial.

Banks turn you down? Cook up a loan! Chef John Halko is financing the expansion of his gourmet organic restaurant by selling customers V.I.P. cards that use meals as his collateral. Patrons of Comfort in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY can buy stakes ranging from $500 to $10,000 and eat for free at the old and new locations. Once they consume the value of the card, they get a dividend: 20% more free meals. “I don’t have to pay interest and it doesn’t cost me as much to recoup,” says Halko, who’s raised about $16,000 with the cards while pursuing traditional loans. ISM believes that when the going gets tough, the tough get creative. Investing in a dining spot they feel passionate about lets foodies put their money where their mouth is—literally. Pay now, eat later. When the stock market tanks, V.I.P. investors can still find solace in Comfort food. With banks stonewalling on loans, ISM says you need to start thinking outside the vault. Giving loyal customers a way to become true stakeholders could be a smart way to go.

© 2009 ISM and Iconoculture, Inc. All rights reserved.
Published monthly by ISM in partnership with Iconoculture.