Patch Content Chief: ‘We Don’t Go After Audience at the Expense of Excellence’
When Rachel Fishman Feddersen joined Patch as chief content officer in February, the former editorial director of digital content, strategy and design at The Parenting Group was tasked with honing and refining the vision behind AOL’s local news play. Feddersen spoke with Street Fight recently about the calculus behind Patch’s content mix, what kinds of stories go viral, and what the hyperlocal network is planning for ahead of the November elections…
With Felix Buy, CityGrid Focuses on Closed-Loop Transactions
“As a standalone brand under CityGrid, Felix will be able to expand its advertiser base and develop new products that help local businesses find new customers across the web and mobile devices,” said Jason Finger, CityGrid’s CEO. “Now that Felix is part of IAC, it also has the ability to more effectively syndicate its current customers across the CityGrid network.”
Study: Consumers Increasingly Will Give Personal Info for Deals
More than 80% of consumers expect companies to know their purchase history and retail experience, according to a new study from ClickFox. Additionally, more than 70% of respondents were happy to share location in exchange for giveaways, discounts, and improved service while 71.3% said it was fine if a company knew their location…
With Moasis, Advertisers Can Bid on Mobile Users By Location
Moasis lays a grid over an area, and allows advertisers can pick pieces of the grid, based on location or more complex definitions like type of business, local events, or behavioral aspects. Then, the system assigns a winner. Says CEO Ryan Golden: “It’s like Google Adwords. But instead of bidding for keywords, you’re bidding for piece of land.”
A Site to Suss Out What a Local Neighborhood Is Actually Like
CEO Ann Montgomery created Nabewise to be an online repository for specific information about neighborhoods in cities around the country — uncovering the type of stuff a local would know, but which someone visiting for the day (perhaps to see if they wanted to move there) would never uncover…
In Russia and Eastern Europe, Daily Deals Market Shrinks As Well
A few weeks ago, I spent some time in the Ukraine, watching a lot of soccer and wandering around Kiev. While there aren’t a lot of hyperlocal publications in Eastern Europe, there is a strong daily deals market, and it is dealing with some of the same issues that the American market is — consolidation, possible contraction — and some different ones as well, particularly potential legal issues…
Forecast: Digital to Comprise More Than 15% of Local Ad Rev by 2016
The strong growth of digital revenue for local media will continue in 2012, according to a report from BIA/Kelsey. The company’s U.S. Local Media Forecast (2011-2016): Full Edition predicts a 13.1% increase between 2011 and 2012. Revenues from mobile search will jump 77.2%, while online video revenues will increase by more than 50%…
LevelUp Adds $12 Million in New Funding
SCVNGR’s mobile payments platform is getting another big boost. The maker of LevelUp, an app that links credit and debit cards to mobile phones, has announced that it has raised an additional $12 million from Highland Capital, Google Ventures, Balderton Capital, Continental Investors, and Transmedia Capital. The latter two companies are new investors…
Patch Launches ‘Partners’ Program With Biz Support for Advertisers
Small businesses that advertise on Patch can now access exclusive interviews with high-level executives and other relevant content. The beta newsletter featured an interview with AOL CEO Tim Armstrong, and the one debuting today includes thoughts from Vineyard Vines co-founder and CEO Ian Murray detailing how he grew his apparel company. Patch will also launch a Patch Partners website, available to all small businesses, in the near future…
Sheepshead Bites Editor Reveals the Secrets to His Hyperlocal Success
“Local doesn’t scale,” says Ned Berke. “That’s the line, right? And as easy as it is to fall back on that, it is the truth. It really doesn’t. You can’t use a template for a small town in Utah, put it down in the middle of Brooklyn, and have it work. … I do think that the old model of giant newsrooms for communities is gone. I don’t think it’s doable. But I don’t think it’s necessary, either.”
Wander CEO: How to Raise $1.2 Million for a Stealth LBS Startup
Dinevore founder Jeremy Fisher recently scored $1.2 million in funding for Wander, a new, travel-centric web startup in stealth mode. Fisher has described Wander as a “a way to the see the world through other people’s eyes” in a way that is “‘adjacent to both the curation and location space, a combination of Tumblr and Pinterest, Yelp, Tripadvisor and Foursquare.”
Belly CEO: Loyalty Is a Relationship — And Relationships Take Work
The customer loyalty company currently operates in 10 cities as well as many one-off locations around the country, and it got a massive vote of confidence in May when Andreessen Horowitz invested $10 million in series B financing. CEO Logan LaHive connected with Street Fight over email recently about the process of scaling up, settling down, and the struggle between great ideas and execution.