You Can Run, But You Can’t Hide (Unless You Leave All Your Devices At Home)

Ad Age is reporting that Mother/New York is working with NBC Local Media to create hyperlocal content solutions in 10 key U.S. markets.

…the partnership with NBC will see the agency playing at the intersection of advertising, marketing and programming, potentially creating new kinds of content in the burgeoning local arena.
Mother Productions will have a staff of 12-15, including writers, motion designers, editors, producers and others, and will also draw from the agency’s existing talent pool. It will orchestrate everything from station brand ID and promos to digital efforts and ads, while also creating locally-based content and relationships.

Apparently, Mother calls their approach “mass roots marketing” (because “hyperlocal content” lacks the sexiness required of a Mother project).
Kevin Lenard, a marketing consultant in Toronto says in a comment on Ad Age (and again on his blog) that experiential marketing is at the root of Mother’s mass roots.

XM is the root of what Fast Company is calling the new age of “One-on-One” marketing, face-to-face, deeply connecting brands to instantly loyal consumers. 100 times more expensive than a TV impression, but 1,000 times more effective at changing consumer behavior on the spot.

What does it all mean? It means that advances in communications technology are opening avenues for brands to find you where you “live, work and play,” wherever that may be. It also means that this new level of intimacy requires a new kind of pitch, one where entertainment and/or utility is at the center, not product info.