Local affiliates of national brands are making the shift from traditional to digital marketing but not nearly at the pace of their parent companies, according to the latest report by Brandmuscle.

In June 2014, an in-depth study of hundreds of local affiliates reviewed the implementation and success of common marketing methods including traditional media, in-person events and digital marketing tactics. The results are compiled in Brandmuscle's "State of Local Marketing Report," which the company will unveil during a webinar on Tuesday, September 30, 2014.

"Marketing has probably changed more in the past two years than the previous fifty," said Clarke Smith, Chief Strategy Officer at Brandmuscle. "Insights from our study help corporate marketers and their local affiliates make sense of the growing complexity of communication channels so that the marketing programs they build can work across dozens, hundreds or thousands of regional markets."

The report leverages insights from Brandmuscle's client base of more than 175 national and global brands, including 700,000 local affiliates and more than $2 billion in channel marketing investments the company tracks each year. The study focused on tactical execution, asking dealers, agents and franchisees about the current state of local marketing across social media, digital media, print media, direct mail, events and more.

Major findings from the study that will be discussed in more detail during the Webinar include:

• Local affiliates are frustrated by digital tactics and tend to avoid them, despite a varying degree of satisfaction with traditional tactics.
• Local affiliates drive marketing success using traditional media in non-traditional ways.
• A clear digital divide exists between local affiliates and their customers, especially as it relates to their presence on the web and social media.

"Corporate marketers, regional brand managers and industry enthusiasts will learn from the results and insights uncovered in our study," said Smith. "Beyond a snapshot of how the industry approaches local marketing at the tactical level, we've outlined easy steps for improvement."