Street Fight Daily: Consumers Want More from Brand Apps, Google Beefs Up on Big Data Analytics

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

Consumers Demand Personalization, Range of Features from Brand Apps (Street Fight)
Consumers demand high and varied functionality from brand apps. About three in five consumers expect promotions and exclusive deals and loyalty programs, and half want to make purchases within the app, a report released this week by digital and mobile development firm WillowTree indicated.

Chasing AWS and Azure, Google Acquires Cask Data to Beef Up on Big Data Analytics (TechCrunch)
Google is pushing hard on its efforts to build out a deeper enterprise business around Google Cloud, which continues to trail behind Amazon’s AWS and Microsoft’s Azure when it comes to revenues and usage among organizations.

In the Pivot to Paid, Publishers Fear the Churn Spiral (Digiday)
Getting a paid subscriber is step one, but keeping the subscriber quickly becomes step two. A report from subscription software company Zuora found that churn rate was 30% for consumer publishers in the last year. 

With Rover, David Arkin Takes a Mobile-First, Enjoyable Approach to Local News (Street Fight)
American Hometown Publishing details how the company’s brand-new publication Rover—launched two weeks ago in suburban Nashville—aims to present news to its readers as an “enjoyable experience.”

A Practical Guide to GDPR for American Businesses (Recode)
Nancy Harris: Here are a few things American businesses should keep in mind leading up to, and through, the GDPR’s implementation…

Uber Is Running TV Ads With Its CEO to Improve Its Reputation (Fast Company)
The ads, starring Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, come in 30- and 60-second spots and appear aimed at announcing Uber is a reformed company that has learned from its past mistakes. 

Senate Votes to Reinstate Obama-Era Net Neutrality Rules (WSJ)
The Senate voted Wednesday to reinstate Obama-era open-internet rules, handing a symbolic defeat to the Trump administration over its efforts to roll back those regulations.

The Podcast Ad Opportunity Is Increasing (AdExchanger)
Twenty-six percent of Americans listen to podcasts every month. These people are young and well-educated and have higher-than average household incomes, according to Edison Research. They’re also loyal and engaged, on average consuming seven podcasts per week.