Street Fight Daily: Uber Rebrands, Amazon Rumored to be Opening Hundreds of Physical Bookstores
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology…
The Inside Story of Uber’s Radical Rebranding (Wired)
Uber has rebranded, updating its logo and apps to reflect the individuality of the company’s local markets. Each of 65 launch countries will receive a toolbox of new brand assets that include tailored colors and patterns, new midcentury modern illustrations, and guidelines for photography. Uber hopes to develop a more flexible brand that can grow with the company as it develops new products and attracts new customers.
With Its New Attribution Feature, Placed Can Tell Whether Your Billboard Is Hot or Not (Street Fight)
Seattle-based Placed announced this morning that with Placed Attribution, which was unveiled back in July, the company can potentially bridge the gap between OOH ads (billboards) and physical store visitations.
Amazon Is Said to Be Planning an Expansion Into Retail Bookstores (New York Times)
Amazon signs may be headed to more storefronts: the Internet retailer plans to open more brick-and-mortar bookstores following the unveiling last year of one such location in Seattle. Any expansion of its physical presence is likely to send shivers down the spines of other booksellers.
Report: More Than 70% of Franchisees Use a Digital Agency (Street Fight)
Franchisees (and their co-op spending) represent an important segment of the local digital marketing ecosystem. A new report reveals that these businesses are starting to accelerate their adoption of digital media and platforms and are increasingly working with digital agencies.
Yahoo to Cut 15% of Workforce, Explore Strategic Options (Wall Street Journal)
Yahoo has effectively hung a for-sale sign on its Web properties, signaling the possible end of a 20-year run by an Internet icon. The company will explore “strategic alternatives” as part of a restructuring that will eliminate roughly 15 percent of its workforce, an announcement that came alongside a dismal fourth-quarter report card. (Subscription required)
IAC to Make Another Bid for Angie’s List (New York Post)
IAC/InterActiveCorp is preparing to make another run at Angie’s List. The conglomerate owns HomeAdvisor, one of Angie’s List’s main rivals, and first chased Angie’s List in November with an unsolicited $512 million bid that was rejected within days.
Survey: 62% of SMBs Don’t Know Whether Their Marketing Works (Marketing Land)
Greg Sterling: The SMB market has no shortage of vendors and solutions providers seeking to help them carry out digital marketing in one form or another, yet more than half of small businesses surveyed recently said they didn’t know if their marketing efforts were effective. This research largely reaffirms what other surveys have shown about the gap between SMB intentions and their ability to execute.
Telmetrics Names New CEO, Looks to Prove the Value of Phone Calls — And the Digital Ads That Drive Them (Street Fight)
The call tracking and analytics company announced this morning that it has named Andrew Osmak as its new CEO, replacing David Howard (who assumes the role of chairman of the company’s board). Osmak had been managing partner of Toronto-based Leverage Capital.
How Uber Profits Even While Its Drivers Aren’t Earning Money (Motherboard)
Even when Uber drivers are roaming around waiting for their next request from the app, the data that they produce is an invaluable business asset. These so-called “dead miles” help Uber develop new partnerships with municipalities and other corporations and maintain its competitiveness.
I Attended Adblock Plus’s ‘Camp David’ European Talks with Publishers and the Ad Industry — Here’s What It was Like (Business Insider)
Lara O’Reilly: Adblock Plus, the ad blocker tens of millions of consumers have downloaded and advertising industry execs love to hate, held the European version of its “Camp David” talks in London. The event followed a November meeting in Manhattan that brought together tech companies, publishers, journalists, non-profits, and academics.
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