A New York Times story screams, “An Ad Engine to Put ‘Mad Men’ Out of business. it’s a story about PlaceLocal, a program that creates an ad simply from a person entering the name and address. Then PlaceLocal spreads its tentacles and gathers images, video, hours of operation, phone number, blog commentary on the business and other information. Once that information is gathered, an ad magically appears, Yes, it’s true. And it’s impressive. But it’s not going to put Mad Men out of business.
This sort of service is perfect for the local baker or car dealer or restaurant or any other small business that can’t afford to pay for an agency or even a freelancer. Of course, it won’t be long before agencies use this service for their pown clients, pass the work of as their own and then charge 20 times the actual cost.
Hmm. This really isn’t a bad thing. Small business can make decent ads on their own. And lazy agencies can use it to up their revenue. What’s not to love?
