Thanks to all who attended and participated in a successful DMS conference in sunny Denver. They keep getting better. All the coverage is below and grouped together here.
Speakers: You can also view and pull down any pics from our Flickr stream. Shout out to Kerry and Patrick for photog skills. Enjoy.

Much of the focus at DMS ’11 centered on the acceleration of performance-based local ad models across new platforms to drive measurable results. Mobile is leading the way with its ability to geotarget intent-driven consumers and spur “secondary actions” (click to call, click for directions, etc.).
In a panel on mobile local ad networks, Verve Wireless CMO …

Just when the DMS ’11 audience thought it knew everything there is to know about group buying, Groupon Regional Sales Manager Brett Truka lifted the curtain a little higher. He also noted that the big G itself continues to gather important learnings that shape new, best practices.
Even though it’s a seemingly dead simple and compelling …

Today as DMS ’11 wrapped up, Mike Centorani, VP of sales training at MatchCraft, and Paul Plant, founder and principal, Radicle Consulting, dissected the art of local advertiser acquisition.
Riffing on the title of the session, Plant said he prefers the title “new models for customer [advertiser] growth.” In other words it’s not just about acquiring …

For all the recent negative bluster in the deals space, including one report of its imminent demise, BIA/Kelsey has a decidedly different message for the dissenters: “We still like ’em.”
At DMS ’11, Marketplaces Program Director Peter Krasilovsky painted a sunnier picture of the robust and still-rising group buying industry. Among the notable growth signals are …

What does digital transformation truly look like? And how far along the path to a new revenue model are directional publishers? Those questions were front and center at DMS ’11, as Dex One Chief Strategy Officer David Sharman, YP New Zealand CEO Scott Pomeroy and Local Search Association President Neg Norton debated “the future of …

Nir Lempert, CEO of Israel-based Golden Pages, discussed his company’s transformation from print to a vertically focused media player. The key to transforming, Lempert said, has been about empowering consumers. And thus the advertisers and revenues have followed.
In 2004 91 percent of Golden Pages’ revenues were from print products and just 9 percent …

During today’s social media forum at DMS ’11 a session on “social CRM” highlighted the products and insights of VendAsta CEO Brendan King and JoinHere CEO Justin Sanger.
The artist formerly known as reputation management is taking many forms as the social Web itself starts to blur at the edges. It’s also getting a heck of …

Only 1.25 percent of the 240 million websites online are mobile friendly. That statistic kicked off the DMS ’11 Mobile Tools for SMBs panel. Provided by DudaMobile, the company’s CEO and cofounder, Itai Sadan, looks at the statistic and sees a huge opportunity in building mobile websites.
In particular, he sees opportunity in converting clicks to …

Smack dab in the middle of today’s social media forum at DMS ’11 was a session to highlight agencies that specialize in social media marketing.
David Lifson, CEO of Postling, and Mike Nabasny, regional sales manager of Wildfire, spent the majority of the session talking about how they’re applying algorithms to bring the traditional agency model …

Two companies investing in self-service advertising for SMBs agree that self-service is an important and growing category, but isn’t likely to replace direct sales.
This morning’s panel at DMS ’11, “SMBs and Self-Serve: Ready for Prime Time?” featured Paul Levine, COO of the real estate site Trulia, and Ørjan Hanssen, a product manager at the Swedish …

Capping off the first day of DMS ’11 and the Performance Media SuperForum was a one-on-one session with David Read, director of Pay for Performance of AT&T Advertising Solutions, and BIA/Kelsey moderator Charles Laughlin. Read talked specifically about how AT&T has integrated pay-per-call into the local sales channel. While it has been successful, Read said …

Matt Booth kicked off a session at DMS ’11 with some BIA/Kelsey data on SMBs’ perception of value for the many things offered to them in search advertising services.
Above SEO assistance, keyword selection, site traffic reports and the usual suspects of SEM services, tracking sources of calls ruled them all. Panelists Scott Greenberg of Marchex …

Today at BIA/Kelsey’s DMS conference, the evolving local merchant was dissected by MerchantCircle founder Ben Smith, Halogen Media Group Chairman Peter Horan and Reply.com CEO Payam Zamani.
SMB savvy is accelerating as a function of the business owners’ role as tech consumers, said Smith. Using tools like the iPhone opens their eyes to the opportunity to …