What Will AR Mean for Consumer Brands?
What’s driving AR today? And what does it mean for big consumer brands? Our lead analyst Mike Boland tackles these questions in this week’s Road Map column, which delves into the tech giants’ investments in AR and what they mean for the future of XR-driven brand advertising.
Heard on the Street, Episode 16: Holiday Shopping Roundtable
What are the latest tactics in localized marketing, and how do they map to retail strategies as we enter the holiday season? This was the topic we batted around in a Street Fight roundtable for the latest episode of the Heard on the Street podcast.
Will AR Bring Together the Best of Online and Offline Shopping?
Mike Boland: We know about the advantages of e-commerce. There’s more supply, transparency, cost efficiency, inventory (a.k.a “endless aisle”), and the ability to dynamically search and filter product attributes. AR can engender a sort of hybrid UX that brings these features to store aisles. The losers in the next era of retail will be those who try to fight this experiential innovation.
Heard On the Street, Episode 15: Expanding the Local Marketing Suite, with David Mihm
As the media world continues to expand and fragment, services targeted at local businesses are likewise evolving into a more holistic set of marketing channels. A good example of that evolution can be seen at ThriveHive, as we discussed with the company’s newest member and longtime Street Fight contributor, David Mihm, on the latest episode of Heard on the Street.
Heard on the Street, Episode 14: Boosting Sales with Google My Business
During September’s Brandify Summit, we listened to an in-depth case study from Dick’s Sporting Goods on sharpening a localized search marketing strategy for multilocation brands around things like Google Posts. We feature that talk in the latest episode of Heard on the Street (see above).
Heard on The Street, Episode 13: Location Intelligence and Brewing Beer With Harry Dewhirst
Harry Dewhirst may be the real-life version of Dos Equis’ “Most Interesting Man In the World.” President of location intelligence company Blis, he holds no permanent residence, dynamically bouncing among Airbnbs and hotels, including the undisclosed location in Singapore where we reached him for the latest episode of Heard on the Street.
Heard on the Street, Episode 12: How Important Are Online Reviews?
Considering the level of influence that online reviews can have on any given business, it’s become increasingly important to optimize them in various ways. How is that done? There are lots of tactical ins and outs we highlight on this episode of the Heard on the Street Podcast.
Heard on the Street, Episode 11: Pivot Dynamics with Gravy Analytics’ Jeff White
“As an entrepreneur, they always say you have to be gritty and tough, and the world’s going to kick you in the teeth, and you have to keep going and persevere,” said Gravy Analytics founder and CEO Jeff White, our latest guest on Heard on the Street. “But sometimes that comes at the expense of having a vision that’s blinding. So you can’t not take your head up and realize, we may be off course.”
Who Will Own Your Augmented Reality?
Questions about AR ownership will be particularly contentious wherever money is changing hands, such as in AR advertising. Courts will face questions such as ownership of digital ad inventory when there are AR overlays on private property (or on other ads). There could be similar gray area in retail & commerce.
Heard on the Street, Episode 10: Apple, Amazon, and Localized Brand Marketing
How are multi-location businesses shifting their local ad spend? What do Apple’s latest mapping moves mean for local search? And what’s Amazon’s master plan for advertising and commerce? These are a few of the topics we bat around in an analyst roundtable for the latest episode of the Heard on the Street podcast.
Will Apple Help Assemble the ‘Internet of Places’?
The AR cloud is the missing piece in the vision we all have for how AR should work. It’s the spatial map of the world that will let AR devices understand their surroundings. Taking this into account, the news that Apple is collecting its own data for Apple Maps may have implications for AR.
Heard on the Street, Episode 9: Running Lean with Stadium Goods CEO John McPheters
VC funding is sexy, but sometimes it’s better not to take the money. Operating lean can train founders for optimal practices and efficiencies that will serve them well in the long run, says Stadium Goods co-founder and CEO John McPheters, our latest guest on Heard on the Street.
Heard on the Street, Episode 8: ‘Engineered Casual’ with Broadly CEO Josh Melick
Word of mouth has been a leading form of local marketing for more than a century. But in a digital age, the name of the game is harnessing it by combining “IRL” chatter with the power of software and network effect. This is the bread and butter of Broadly, whose CEO and founder Josh Melick is our latest guest on our podcast Heard on the Street.
Heard on the Street Episode 7: Defying the Hyperlocal Graveyard, with NextDoor
One of the imperatives for fledgling sites with hyperlocal aspirations that NextDoor co-founder and chief architect Prakash Janakiraman points to is dedicated focus on neighbor-to-neighbor communications and engagement. Though not as big or culturally embedded as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, NextDoor is exclusively devoted to local community interaction.
How AR Will Fundamentally Change Search, Participating in an ‘Internet of Places’
Online-to-offline (O2O) commerce is one area where AR will find a home. Just think: Is there any better technology to unlock O2O commerce than one that literally melds physical and digital worlds? AR can shorten gaps in time and space that currently separate those interactions (e.g. search) from offline outcomes.
Heard on the Street, Episode 6: Engineering, Surfing, and Acting with Frost Prioleau
How do you bring brand-like programmatic advertising to local advertisers who spend less than $4 per day? It takes good software and partnerships to hit the sweet spots of automation and customization, according to Simpli.fi co-founder and CEO Frost Prioleau, our latest guest on Heard on the Street.
Heard on the Street, Episode 5: Bringing Apple-like Quality Standards to Local Ads, with Lynn Tornabene
What do you learn from going through two major tech acquisitions? It’s all about having a firm strategy, says Affinity X CMO Lynn Tornabene, our latest guest on Heard on the Street. In Tornabene’s varied career leading projects at top tech firms, M&A lightning struck twice—at DoubleClick (acquired by Google), then Quattro Wireless (acquired by Apple).
SMB OS Operators, Part IV: Peter Krasilovsky
“We like to cite $500 billion as the broad SMB OS opportunity—roughly 3.5 times the size of local advertising,” veteran industry commentator Peter Krasilovsky says. “But I think the end number has got to be many times larger.”
Heard on the Street, Episode 4: Growing the SMB Pie with Ilir Sela
What are the nuances and tactical imperatives of selling pizza locally? For one, it compels a highly verticalized approach: It’s all about focus and specialization on the sector’s unique operational challenges, according to Slice Founder and CEO Ilir Sela, our latest guest on Heard on the Street.
Not All Voice Assistants are Created Equal
Several tech giants are chasing voice search and assistant apps. They’re motivated by different factors—each seeing voice as a way to support, grow, and protect their unique core businesses.