Street Fight Daily: Facebook Wants Your TV Ad Budget, Are Ad Blockers ‘Highway Robbers?’
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology…
Why Sheryl Sandberg Says Big Brands Should Spend Their TV Ad Budgets on Facebook (Adweek)
Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg has made it clear to media buyers that video is big business for the platform, and it’s not afraid to go after brands’ TV budgets. Sandberg played up how Facebook is at least a complement to (if not a replacement for) television advertising, but she also acknowledged that marketers are concerned about what they’re paying for and how it’s measured.
Whither the Search Engine in the Age of Mobile? (Street Fight)
The path to purchase ceased being linear some time ago, probably as soon as online-to-offline became a standard part of the marketing lexicon. But as mobile has begun to wield increasing influence over the shopping process — at home, on the go, and in-store — the path has grown even more convoluted. The latest evidence comes from a new study conducted by International Data Corporation (IDC) on behalf of YP.
Ad Blocking Companies Are Like Highway Robbers, IAB Says (Wall Street Journal)
Companies profiting from ad blocking are engaging in “highway robbery,” the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) said at a press conference during Advertising Week in New York. Scott Cunningham, general manager of IAB’s Technology Lab, said the online advertising trade group “strongly opposes” ad blocking, and that ad blocking companies “are holding [publishers’] sites and livelihoods hostage.”
ReachLocal’s Rowlands: In Order to Stay Relevant with Your Market, You Have No Choice But to Broaden (Street Fight)
“A lot of companies started with a one-product solution…But our customers’ needs evolved, and they needed more than that one product. In order to stay relevant with your market, you have no choice but to broaden,” said ReachLocal CEO Sharon Rowlands about the pressure to offer a full suite of services.
Instacart Hires Its First CFO: Ravi Gupta (TechCrunch)
Instacart is growing up. To wit, the three-year-old grocery delivery startup has hired its first CFO, Ravi Gupta. Gupta will have plenty to oversee as part of Instacart’s management team, including spearheading the company’s M&A efforts. He hinted that more acquisitions may be in the cards.
Yext Gets in the Customer Engagement Xone (Street Fight)
Fast-growing Yext is broadening its suite of location-based targeting products with the launch this week of Xone, a beacon-based program for businesses to engage in-store consumers with relevant content.
Retailers Ahead in Internet of Things Education (eMarketer)
The internet of things (IoT) continues to grow, connecting more devices to each other, but there’s still a massive awareness gap. Even among business and IT leaders responsible for making big decisions about the future of the IoT many don’t know much about it. Research suggests retailers have made the most progress in this area.
SheerID Raises $5.3M to Help Retailers Verify Customers Who Qualify for Special Offers (GeekWire)
SheerID, a startup that develops verification technology for retailers, has raised a $5.3 million round to help scale the company’s fast-growing business. SheerID helps customers like Costco, Best Buy, and Amazon verify the identity of people within specific groups so they can receive special offers. Its request processing technology acts as a bridge between a client’s buying process and a secure database.
With the Wisdom of the Crowd, You Can Travel Like a Local (Recode)
Alex Mackenzie Torres: By grouping hotels and tourist attractions together, cities often separate travelers from the locals. Today, with the increasing emergence of crowdsourcing and personalization technologies that incorporate SoLoMo (social-local-mobile) capabilities, you can go beyond the traditional tourist experience and travel more like a local in almost any destination.
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