Street Fight Daily: The (Walmart) Empire Strikes Back, How Brands Forge Emotional Connections
TODAY IN LOCAL & DIGITAL MARKETING
Inside Walmart’s Rise as a Legitimate E-Commerce Player (Digiday)
On Thursday, the company reported 40% U.S. e-commerce sales growth in the second quarter, up from 33% in the previous quarter. Beyond enhancements to physical locations, the company’s e-commerce growth is also the result of revamps to its website and app, and its online marketplace. NYT: Walmart finds success in the grocery aisle. The Atlantic: The strange infinities of e-commerce
Motista Report Indicates What Brands Can Do to Spark Emotional Engagement (Street Fight)
The report’s results suggest that brands seeking a strong emotional bond with customers today must offer consistent experiences across a variety of channels and specifically seek out emotional connections through distinct strategies tailored to that purpose.
Did Ad Blocking Just Flip from Protection Racket to Mobile Marketing Savior (MediaPost)
Sean Hargrave: Do not adjust your computer screen, but today looks like the day from which we can start saying ad-blocking—or at least the technology—might well be a force for good.
Street Culture: Synup Culture in the Chaos of Super-Fast Scale (Street Fight)
Kevin Clark is pulled in a lot of different directions these days: having joined digital knowledge SaaS company Synup less than a year ago, he’s trying to hire lots of new employees, he’s in charge of business logistics on which he’s not necessarily an expert, and his boss might call him at any moment.
Cardlytics Says It Hopes to Expand Beyond Bank-Owned Media (AdExchanger)
The payments data company Cardlytics, which went public in February, said in its first-ever earnings call Wednesday that it hopes to expand its advertising program and the marketing applications of its consumer spending data.
LBMA Podcast: Facebook & L’Oréal, Pandora, GroundTruth & Technomic (Street Fight)
On this week’s Location Based Marketing Association podcast: Facebook + L’Oreal, Pandora, GroundTruth + Technomic, Stasher, UgoRound, and Beam payments.
LATEST FROM THE DUOPOLY
As Demand for Instagram Stories Ads Heats Up, Early Adopters Look to Facebook Stories (Digiday)
Even when Facebook loses, it still wins. Price spikes are scaring away some advertisers from Instagram Stories and leading them to diversify to … Facebook Stories, which are cheaper.
After Controversial AP Story, Google Clarifies Location-Tracking Policy (ABC)
Google has revised an erroneous description on its website of how its “Location History” setting works, clarifying that it continues to track users even if they’ve disabled the setting.
INTO THE CRYSTAL BALL
Apple’s Road to $2 Trillion Will Be Paved with AR, Apple Cars (The Street)
According to one Apple analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo of Hong Kong-based TF International Securities, it won’t be the iPhone, iWatch, or even stock buybacks that will push Apple in that direction. It will be AR and cars.
Amazon Is Reportedly Thinking About Buying the Whole Foods of Movie Theaters. Good Idea? (WaPo)
Steven Zeitchik: Amazon could bundle movie admissions with subscriptions for Prime, similar to the way it packages the latter with Whole Foods purchases—offering discounts on salmon, peaches and more. That could help drive Amazon customers to theaters—and drive moviegoers to Prime.
