Timely Local Marketing Campaign Earns Brandmuscle a Finalist Spot in BIA/Kelsey's 2016 GOLOCAL Awards

CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwired - March 22, 2016) - Brandmuscle has been named a finalist in the "Strategic Use of Digital Marketing" category of BIA/Kelsey's 2016 GOLOCAL Awards competition for a timely Facebook advertising campaign the company designed and executed for a local agent of a national insurance brand.

Brandmuscle is among 10 finalists that will be featured at BIA/Kelsey's "BRANDS" conference today in New York City. GOLOCAL submissions were evaluated within three entry categories (innovation, sales/revenue and strategic use of digital marketing) to determine how effectively each program fulfilled its stated objectives, showed ingenuity and distinctiveness, and exemplified skillful marketing strategy. Finalists were selected by local advertising and marketing experts from Under Armour, GeoMarketing, ESPN Hometown and more who evaluated a competitive field of entries.

"The GOLOCAL finalists represent today's most innovative and effective approaches in local media and marketing by brands," said MacKenzie Lovings, BIA/Kelsey's VP of Marketing. "We're excited to showcase their efforts at BIA/Kelsey Brands."

According to Brandmuscle's State of Local Marketing Report, which surveyed local affiliates (dealers, agents and franchisees) of national brands -- digital and social media use is growing but local affiliates overwhelmingly struggle due to the complexity and time commitment required to execute across a rapidly-changing media landscape. In fact, Brandmuscle's study found that 77 percent of local affiliates who see recognize the value in social media marketing find it too complicated to implement.

"We know local affiliates are under a lot of pressure to produce sales, so we work one-on-one with them to leverage the national brand and create uniquely targeted campaigns that resonate better with local audiences," said Lori Alba, Marketing Director at Brandmuscle. "Our campaign used a unique strategy that not only made the agent proud, but also drove significant measurable results."

The nomination-worthy local marketing campaign emerged amidst the buzz of the annual NYC Pride Parade and major Supreme Court decision recognizing gay marriage in June 2015. Working with a New York City insurance agent, Brandmuscle helped turn an historical moment into a great business opportunity amongst the agent's hyper-local community. Brandmuscle defined a target audience, location and specific interests on Facebook to coincide with the major media buzz, then customized nationally-approved creative with a strong message to create a powerful campaign and call-to-cation that generated phone calls and website leads.

About Brandmuscle

Offering a comprehensive local marketing automation platform backed by 24/7 on-demand support, Brandmuscle helps national brands capitalize on opportunities and local market conditions with brand-compliant, customized marketing across all mediums and formats. Headquartered in Chicago with offices in Cleveland, Austin and New Jersey, Brandmuscle employs more than 650 talented professionals and serves more than 200 of the world's leading brands. Brandmuscle is the only software provider ranked "Best" in all categories of Gleanster's Local Marketing Automation Vendor Benchmark report and has appeared on Inc. Magazine's 500 | 5000 Fastest-Growing Companies in America List multiple years. For more information about Brandmuscle call (866) 464-4342 or visit www.brandmuscle.com.

About BIA/Kelsey BRANDS

BIA/Kelsey BRANDS : The Brand-to-Local Marketing Summit takes place March 22, in New York City. The summit will examine the drivers of $61 billion in spending by franchise and brand marketers targeting local audiences, as well as the roles of agencies, media and adtech/martech companies. More information about BIA/Kelsey BRANDS, including the agenda, speakers, sponsors and online registration, is available at http://www.biakelsey.com/BRANDS.

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