It may be a metaphorical stretch, but convenience stores are like the general store and travel waystation of the 19th century: they are essential to their communities, but as with so many retail sectors during the pandemic, the transformation already begun must accelerate so convenience stores remain vital. Some convenience stores have been critical during the pandemic, such as the Arivaca Mercantile in Arivaca, AZ, as the nearest gas station and grocery store are more than 35 miles distance.

The 2025 Marketing Brew Summit revealed that agility is now the defining skill in marketing, with 87% of marketers calling it essential as the industry rapidly evolves toward 2026. Marketers are shifting focus from AI upskilling to experimenting with new channels—especially social, influencer, and emerging platforms—while simultaneously prioritizing better attribution and outcome-based measurement. Despite this ambition, most teams remain under-resourced and structurally slow, forcing marketers to “do more with less” and improvise speed within rigid systems. For local media sales teams and agencies, the insights signal opportunity: agile local campaigns, modular testing packages, and measurable ROI can outperform national one-size-fits-all models. The future of local marketing success will depend on turning experimentation into strategy, measurement into proof, and community engagement into long-term brand value.

The Baby Boomers were much heralded; their children, Generation X, were somewhat ignored by comparison; and Generation Y, the Millennials, have been discussed and dissected for most of the last 10 years and continue to be probed and closely scrutinized under the microscope of marketing research.

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There is way too much on cold calling. On any day, you can find all kinds of self-proclaimed experts publishing posts about cold calling. Occasionally, you will find these experts arguing over the best way to make a cold call. One expert will focus on how you introduce yourself, while another will claim that they can improve your chances of a conversation and acquiring a first meeting. It is rare to see the cold call expert offer anything important outside of their chosen area of focus.

Local media companies are under growing pressure from platform competition, advertiser fatigue and fragmented buying behavior, but the deeper problem is not a lack of demand—it is an overreliance on transactional selling and short-term revenue. The strongest local media organizations will be the ones that borrow the discipline of SaaS-style go-to-market systems by focusing on recurring revenue, retention, customer success, smarter packaging and predictive metrics across broadcast, print, outdoor and digital. For AEs, managers and agencies alike, the opportunity is to stop merely selling inventory and start building renewable advertiser relationships that create stronger client results and more stable long-term growth.

Time is your most valuable resource—how you use it shapes what you create.
At Marketing Insights, we know that success isn’t just about working harder—it’s about working smarter.

In a world where speed and strategy go hand in hand, how we manage our time determines how effectively we show up, deliver results, and stay balanced. Productivity isn’t about being busy—it’s about being intentional. These quotes offer practical wisdom to help professionals focus, prioritize, and protect what matters most.

This collection of quotes highlights:
✨ The power of focus over frenzy
✨ The importance of mindful, organized work habits
✨ How effective time management supports both performance and well-being

This year's Black Friday performance highlighted a critical lesson for local media advertisers: simple, benefit-driven value messaging is far more effective at driving traffic and sales than purpose-driven brand positioning. While Walmart achieved record sales by focusing maniacally on its "Save Money. Live Better" promise, Target struggled, suggesting its focus on socio-cultural initiatives came at the expense of core retail value. For local retailers, the takeaway is clear: marketing budgets should prioritize consistent, clear communication of price, product, service, and availability to motivate the middle-class consumer. Media sales professionals should advise clients to shift the conversation from corporate virtue to tangible customer benefits to maximize transactional performance.

BrightEdge’s 2025 industry report shows that AI-driven search is growing rapidly, but organic search remains the dominant driver of conversions and brand visibility. While AI referrals account for less than 1% of total traffic today, they are doubling month over month, signaling a major shift in how consumers discover products and services. For local media sales reps and ad agencies, this means combining traditional SEO with strategies that help clients appear in AI-generated results—through structured data, authoritative content, and local media mentions. The report emphasizes that local credibility and trusted content are becoming essential signals for AI models, giving local publishers and agencies a competitive edge. The key takeaway: success in 2025 requires selling not just impressions, but discoverability across both search and AI ecosystems.

Television remains the most powerful and trusted medium, reaching over 90% of adults daily who watch for more than 4 hours on average, according to The Media Audit. In a down economy, TV’s ability to deliver high-impact advertising alongside trusted news, live sports, and shared cultural events makes it an essential platform for driving brand visibility and purchase intent. Stations that emphasize TV’s reach, emotional connection, and proven ROI—while offering smart packaging and local insights—will help advertisers stay strong through uncertainty and position themselves for faster recovery.

Closing is perhaps the easiest commitment to acquire. But for this to be true, you need to gain a number of commitments. In 2016, after publishing The Only Sales Guide You’ll Ever Need, I had already started writing The Lost Art of Closing: Winning the 10 Commitments That Drive Sales on my flight from a meeting with the publisher in New York.

In today’s fragmented and fast-changing advertising landscape, local media sellers face the challenge of promoting a product—news and community media—that can feel both complex and misunderstood. But this very complexity offers a unique opportunity: to become more than just ad reps by positioning themselves as trusted partners aligned with their clients' values. By shifting focus from features to solutions, leaning into authenticity, and involving advertisers in the creative process, local media professionals can mitigate risk, deepen trust, and foster long-term client relationships. This approach not only increases revenue potential but also reinforces the critical role of community media in a rapidly evolving world.

Legacy media is gaining renewed relevance because marketers are starting to see the limits of a media marketplace driven too heavily by automation, cost efficiency and interchangeable performance metrics. For local radio, TV, cable, print, outdoor and digital companies, the opportunity is to sell not just inventory, but strategic partnerships built on trust, context, creativity and market-level influence. The winners will be the media organizations and agencies that can combine local audience relationships with integrated ideas that help advertisers stand out in an increasingly commoditized environment.

A business proposal can bridge the gap between you and potential clients. Done correctly, it will outline your value proposition and persuade a company or organization to do business with you. Here, we’ll take a look at the various kinds of business proposals and go over how to write one. We’ll also see some ideas and examples to help guide yours.

When the history of the last 50 years is studied and analyzed hundreds of year from now, it is likely to be recognized as the first epoch of equality. Seemingly every day, stereotypes and biases about gender, age, race and sexual orientation are being rejected and being replaced by genuine efforts to treat everyone equally. Often, lost among all these seismic changes is the major transformation of the role of men.