Street Fight Daily: Local News Publishers Form Ad Company, Google Still Betting on Beacons

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology…

4 of the Biggest Media Publishers in the U.S. Form an Advertising Company (Business Insider)
Publishers behind some of the most well-known local news brands in the U.S. have formed a company that will provide the scale and trusted premium brands to bring in the kind of big advertising deals afforded by organizations like The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. Nucleus Marketing Solutions claims to reach more than 70 percent of consumers in the top 30 advertising markets and 168 million online users.

Google May Have Found a Way to Make the Real-World Web Work (Wired)
A glaring issue with beacons and the technology’s adoption has been security. “People don’t have a really good feel for the digital exhaust that they leave as they go around the web,” says Joseph Hall, policy technologist at CDT. “It’s way worse when it comes to operating in physical reality.” Google wants to fix that.

Inevitably, There’s a ‘Bot of Bots’ Digging Up Local Services (Street Fight)
Rick Robinson: Bot Hunter allows queries about the latest hot bots, and its makers envision lots of local bots populating the platform. Key use cases include scheduling appointments, retrieving basic information, receiving automatic follow-ups after certain purchases, and promotions and loyalty programs.

Apple Pursues New Search Features for a Crowded App Store (Bloomberg)
Apple has constructed a team to explore changes to the App Store, including a new strategy for charging developers to have their apps more prominently displayed. Among the ideas being pursued, Apple is considering paid search, a Google-like model in which companies would pay to have their app shown at the top of search results based on what a customer is seeking.

Why Local Publishers Shouldn’t Aim So Exclusively for Millennials (Street Fight)
Tom Grubisich: I’ve been a cheerleader for local news organizations in their quest to attract Millennial audiences, but I’m starting to wonder if publishers are too convinced that reaching the youngest generation of adults is the magical elixir for all of their problems.

How a Tiny Startup Is Helping Foursquare Pivot Its Business (Business Insider)
In the first quarter of this year, Foursquare began using Beeswax, founded last year by former Googlers. Beeswax markets itself as a “bidder-as-a-service,” automatically placing bids on the real-time auctions for ad space that take place as a web page loads. Beeswax lends its technology to Foursquare’s programmatic ad platform, Pinpoint.

The On-Demand Economy Is Growing, and Not Just for the Young and Wealthy (Harvard Business Review)
The on-demand economy is attracting more than 22.4 million consumers annually and $57.6 billion in spending. The largest category is online marketplaces, with 16.3 million consumers each month spending almost $36 billion annually. Transportation comes in second, followed by food/grocery delivery. And the demographics of these on-demand consumers are increasingly diverse.

How Adobe and Google Are Shaping the Future of Digital Analytics (CMS Wire)
The behavior of empowered customers is driving influence. There are high expectations for personalized marketing that speaks to an individual’s needs. Adobe and Google are responding to these trends in ways that will influence digital analytics and marketing strategies.

TaskRabbit Founder Leah Busque Steps Down as CEO (Fortune)
TaskRabbit CEO and co-founder Leah Busque is stepping down as chief of the company, set to take on a new role as executive chairman of the startup’s board. TaskRabbit COO Stacy Brown-Philpot will become the new CEO. Earlier this year, the company unveiled a new service to allow people to access home cleaning services, handyman tasks, and moving help within 90 minutes of a initial request.

Food Delivery App Postmates Looks to Retail as the Next Frontier (Digiday)
When Postmates launched in 2011, food orders made up 99 percent of its delivery. Thanks to partnerships with retailers, food now accounts for 80 percent, while retail, health, and beauty make up 20 percent. Postmates is planning to grow that percentage in 2016, and expand its reach from 40 cities to 100 and its delivery rate from 1 million per month to 10 million.

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