Today we are excited to announce the launch of the fourth annual Ad-to-Action Awards. Like previous years, the competition seeks to showcase new ideas, stimulate thinking and celebrate the best local and location-based marketing products, solutions and campaigns that are driving consumer actions (calls, clicks, store visits, etc.).

We had 60 entries in 2014, 91 in 2015, 100 in 2016 and are looking for even more in 2017. The goal is to make the program a true competition of merit, where winning is an honorable distinction. For that reason, it is free to enter and all media, technology, marketing and advertising providers are encouraged to participate (both LSA members and non-members).

Entries will be judged on innovation, usability, execution and implementation, potential for ROI and solution design. Finalists across each of the 10 categories will be announced in January 2017 and the winners will be revealed on the main-stage at the LSA17 Conference in San Diego February 27 – March 1. The categories are:

• Presence Management: New forms of listings, syndication, distribution practices, website creation, management solutions, platforms for listings, new content types or functionality, and new ways to target listings.
• Verticals & Marketplaces: Solutions with specific relevance to select industries or business type.
• Attribution & Analytics: Innovative ways to create, target, traffic and measure advertising.
• Local Commerce Services: New ways to support local businesses with scheduling, customer relationship management, payments, e-commerce, loyalty, etc.
• Sales & Marketing Automation: Solutions that automate sales and marketing processes.
• Mobile: Mobile ad products, mobile tools, integration with mobile apps, and mobile targeting.
• Social & Reputation Management: Tools that help measure social ROI, facilitate reputation management, drive social engagement, utilize paid vs. organic posts and leverage online reviews.
• Best Local Search Campaign: Most effective use of local SEO or SEM for multi-location brands or small business customers.
• Best Use of Location: Most effective use of location data for audience targeting, competitive intelligence, customer experience improvements and/or attribution.
• Best Creative: Ad copy, graphics, content, video, audio or a combination of media in advertising or marketing campaigns.

We have also assembled a diverse panel of industry leaders, experts and analysts to evaluate entries and select winners. Below is a cluster of the judges, but for more information on the judges (title, bios), click here.

The deadline to submit is Saturday, December 31, 2016. To learn more, click here.