Street Fight Daily: Apple to Report Revenue Drop, Reviews Increasingly Impact Search

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

Apple Expected to Report First Drop in Annual Revenue Since 2001 (Wall Street Journal)
One key streak for Apple Inc. is coming to an end. When the technology stalwart unveils its fiscal fourth-quarter results on Tuesday, its annual revenue and net income are expected to log a drop for the first time since 2001.

The Increasing Impact of Reviews and Google+ (?!) on Local SEO (Street Fight)
Some new data has given us some “big time insight” into how Google is using authoritative local sites to inform local search rankings, says David Mihm. Mike Blumenthal agrees, saying that the prominence of local review pages and appears to be “transferring prominence directly to the local entity in a way that is totally independent of links.”

From East Coast to West Coast: The Company Behind Miami’s The New Tropic Expands to Seattle (Nieman Lab)
WhereBy.Us is one of the most interesting digital startups working in the local news space. After starting in Florida, it’s launching The Evergrey in Seattle, and it has its eye on additional markets.

Local Listings Get a Real-Time Update from Brandify (Street Fight)
The company’s new digital marketing platform combines the power of tech with the authority of the human brain. Brandify’s Nip Zalavadia, says the platform has the capability to access and analyze huge amounts of data, but also uses real people to address details that often fall through the cracks of automated software solutions.

The Fight for Leads: Lawyers Go After Clients (Street Fight)
Sponsored: No longer a taboo, law firms are aggressively using digital channels to recruit clients, in response to changes in consumer behavior. According to a survey by FindLaw, 74% of prospects who begin their searches online end up contacting their choice firms via phone. Eighty-six percent of consumers start their online research with search engines, and a small-but-growing 3% relies on social media.

To Dunkin’ Donuts, Media is More Than Just New User Acquisition (AdExchanger)
“Coffee is such a big part of people’s lives that we’re looking on the media side, where we can be there when there’s an opportunity for a connection,” said Nick Dunham, director of media and partnerships for Dunkin’ Donuts. Dunham spoke with AdExchanger about Dunkin’s evolving media mix, and how it leverages it for loyalty and CRM.

A. G. Sulzberger Talks Digital Innovation at The New York Times (Poynter)
When Sulzberger assumes his new role, he will inherit more than a title. He’ll also take up a series of responsibilities and challenges that sound familiar to anyone who pays attention to the news business: keeping up with the relentless pace of digital disruption, competing with innovative rivals for audience attention and turning drive-by readers into paying customers.

Big Brands Are Enlisting Employees to Create Armies of Social Media Mavens (AdWeek)
If you are a marketing chief, one of the best return-on-investment channels may actually include your colleagues. Increasingly, marketers are turning their employees into social media mavens, encouraging them to promote positive, intriguing or helpful stories that are on-brand.

Weather Channel’s Neil Katz: Platforms ‘Have the Power’ — For Now (Digiday)
It’s become impossible for a digital media company today to ignore Facebook. With 1.7 billion users worldwide, the potential scale is intoxicating. It’s why The Weather Company — the digital business behind The Weather Channel brand that was scooped up by IBM for $2 billion — is all-in on Facebook, The Weather Company’s editor-in-chief Neil Katz said on this week’s episode of the Digiday Podcast.

What It Means to Bring Loyalty to Mobile Wallets (eMarketer)
Marketers are investing more in loyalty programs, and one way to boost their profile is to include them in mobile wallet apps. According to June research, internet users almost universally expect to be able to exchange points across programs within their mobile wallet—and that’s not all they want.

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