BIA/Kelsey's ILM East Conference Attracting Who's Who of Deal a Day, Mobile, Local and Social Media; Focused on Rapid Industry Change

CHANTILLY, Va., Feb. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Fueled by rapid consumer adoption of mobile and social platforms like check-in services, deal a day and group buying, "local" is at the leading edge of the latest developments in online advertising. BIA/Kelsey, the respected authority on all things local, is gathering the leaders in the industry to examine the latest business models, technologies and revenue opportunities at Interactive Local Media East (ILM East) (www.biakelsey.com/ILMEast2011), March 21-23, Boston, Massachusetts.

ILM East's intensive three-day agenda features more than 50 of the most innovative local leaders, including top representatives of interactive local media, local search, mobile local and social local media. Headliners include Evan Cohen, general manager, Foursquare; Tim O'Shaughnessy, cofounder and chief executive officer, LivingSocial; Nate Richardson, president, Gilt City; Maz Sharafi, senior manager, local monetization, Facebook; and David Weinberger, senior researcher, Berkman Center for Internet & Society, Harvard University.

"Local online advertising is moving incredibly fast," said ILM East Conference Cochairman Peter Krasilovsky, vice president and program director, Marketplaces, BIA/Kelsey. "Our ILM event in December was the largest local event ever held. We're seeing innovation happen at a pace that is many times what we've seen before. The ILM East program leverages this fast-changing environment, emphasizing a next wave of local that goes beyond transactions to focus on conversations, engagement and customer acquisition."

Other featured speakers include Tim Condon, director, new digital ventures, The Washington Post; Mike DeLuca, senior vice president, AOL Local; Matt Idema, vice president, Yahoo Local; Chuck Lee, executive director, Internet solutions, AT&T Ad Solutions; Sean Moriarty, entrepreneur in residence, Mayfield Fund; Christopher Mayer, publisher, The Boston Globe; and Josh Resnik, vice president and general manager, Gannett Digital Media Network.

The conference program will focus on new local marketplaces, covering search, mobile, social and daily deals. Session highlights include:

• The Money: A Venture Capital View of "Local"
• SMB Panel: SMBs Discuss How They See Local Advertising Opportunities
• The New Wave of "Hyper Relevant" Media
• Local Retail: Online Marketing Hits It Out of the Park
• National Advertisers and Local Search
• SuperForum: Local Mobile and Social
• SuperForum: The Local Offers Revolution — Group Buying, Promotions and SMB Services

ILM East Preview Webinar

BIA/Kelsey will host a free webinar at 2 p.m. Eastern on Thursday, Feb. 10, titled, "Local Merchants and the Online and Mobile Revolution." In this session BIA/Kelsey analysts will preview retail components of the ILM East conference, covering trends in local merchant use of online and mobile platforms. The webinar will also include a special focus on use of social media and highlights from BIA/Kelsey's latest Local Commerce Monitor study on adoption of online and mobile marketing tools and strategies by SMBs. For webinar details and online registration go to https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/597116248.  

About ILM East

ILM East is an expansion of BIA/Kelsey's Interactive Local Media conference franchise, recognized as the definitive event on local digital media. In 2011 BIA/Kelsey will hold two ILM conferences — ILM East, March 21-23 in Boston, and ILM West, Dec. 12-14 in San Francisco. The addition of a second ILM event will support the increased networking, business development and educational needs of BIA/Kelsey clients and members of the local media community who are operating in a marketplace that is experiencing rapid development.

ILM East conference sponsors include Acxiom, Analog Analytics, AT&T Interactive, Localeze, Local Matters, MaxiBooking, MerchEngines and Yellow Pages Data Delivery. Association partners are Association of Directory Publishers (ADP), American Marketing Association – Boston Chapter (AMA Boston) and Yellow Pages Association (YPA). Conference media partners are Mashable, NetNewsCheck, Radio-Info.com, Search Marketing Standard Magazine, The Next Web and TVNewsCheck.

For more information about ILM East, including the complete agenda, list of speakers and companies attending, visit www.biakelsey.com/ILMEast2011.    

About BIA/Kelsey

BIA/Kelsey advises companies in the local media space through consulting and valuation services, research, Continuous Advisory Services and conferences. Since 1983 BIA/Kelsey has been a resource to the media, mobile advertising, telecommunications, Yellow Pages and electronic directory markets, as well as to government agencies, law firms and investment companies looking to understand trends and revenue drivers. BIA/Kelsey's annual conferences draw executives from across industries seeking expert guidance on how companies are finding innovative ways to grow. Additional information is available at www.biakelsey.com, on the company's blogs at www.biakelsey.com/blogs and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/BIAKelsey.

SOURCE BIA/Kelsey