Street Fight Daily: Facebook Invests in Local News, Ford Plans to Enter Local Delivery

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

Facebook Announces Support for Local News Subscriptions (Nieman Lab)
After testing subscriptions in Instant Articles and prioritizing local content in the News Feed, Facebook will now be coaching local news publishers on “unlock[ing] strategies that help…build digital customer acquisitions on and off our platform” in its pilot Local News Subscriptions Accelerator. TechCrunch: Facebook rolls out job posts.

Localized Insights Mean More Precise Campaigns and Better ROI (Street Fight)
Gal Jacobi: While creating at scale makes economic and operational sense, the danger in going with a one-size-fits-all approach is not insignificant. Evidence suggests over half of such “national” initiatives fail.

Ford Lays Foundation for Autonomous Ride-Hail and Delivery Service (Recode)
Ford is laying the groundwork for its autonomous vehicle business in Miami, Fla. It’s a three-pronged approach that is still in its infancy, but includes a delivery pilot in partnership with Dominos and Postmates, testing self-driving cars, and setting up a fleet-management center.

How to Turn Alternative Data into Alpha (Street Fight)
Andries de Villiers: The need for real-time data is critical, as it enhances the speed and accuracy of key decisions and enables investors to detect any defects before making a choice.

CPGs Focus on Marketing in Tough US Retail Landscape (AdExchanger)
The world’s largest consumer product brands are struggling to grow their US businesses.

Amazon Makes Its Second-Biggest Acquisition (NYT)
Amazon said Tuesday that it had acquired Ring, a maker of internet-connected doorbells and cameras, pushing more deeply into the home security market.

Publishers Get a Boost from Twitter Video (Digiday)
Twitter has delivered more video views than usual over the last two months, for some making up for the reach lost on Facebook since it made changes to the news feed.

Marketers and IT Departments Need to Get In Sync (AdWeek)
While the decade between 2007 and 2017 marked the genesis and maturation of the mobile industry, technologies like augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI) are poised to accelerate this evolution even faster in the decade to come.

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