On this week’s edition of the Location-Based Marketing Association podcast: CS Hudson, Baidu Maps, XYO Protocol’s blockchain lab, Ariana Grande + YouTube, Alexa’s location alerts, Starbucks + Uber.
Category: Commentary
The Transparency Trap: On Low Standards for ‘Transparency’ in the Data Market
Jake Moskowitz: In media, transparency demands accountability. In other words, it means asking media suppliers to “prove it.” It means expecting suppliers to “show me the viewability and fraud percentages, and allow me to suppress ads from running next to unsafe content.” Today, when it pertains to data, transparency just means “tell me where the data came from”—that’s it. That is not enough.
Improving the Local SEO Toolkit: A 2018 Holiday Wish List
“Local is a complicated world that is not currently served well by the tools of the organic world. The end of the year and the start of a new one is a great time to get folks thinking about how they might address this hole in our tool sets,” says Mike Blumenthal. He and David Mihm explore the weaknesses and possibilities among local search tools in their last column of 2018.
2019 Location Data Predictions: Mobile, Privacy, and Explosive Growth
Greg Isbister: The next year will see a marked shift for location data. As consumers and businesses alike see more value and additional uses for this data, industry growth will continue to increase exponentially. Until regulations are put in place to increase security and transparency, it will be up to businesses to institute their own best practices, getting ahead of legislation to come.
LBMA Podcast: Facebook Files New Patents, Google Maps ‘For You’
On this week’s LBMA podcast: Facebook files new patents, JoAnn taps Teemo, Favendo at Frankfurt airport, Google Map’s “For You,” Domino’s hotspots, Mariott + PepsiCo go virtual reality art. Special guest: Gabriel Bedoya – The Insights Company.
Civil’s Relaunch Will Include Can’t-Fail Second Token Sale in Early 2019
In this Q&A, Civil co-founder and CEO Matthew Iles, Vivian Schiller, CEO of the Civil Foundation, and Matt Coolidge, co-founder and head of marketing at Civil, detail how their decentralized and community-owned journalism network can be a realistic answer to the “duopoly” of the giant Google and Facebook search and social platforms.
Will Consumer Privacy Be the Defining Issue of 2019?
Though their terms are not identical, in essence both GDPR and CCPA are designed to give consumers the power to stop companies from collecting personal data, to review all personal data a company may have collected, and to request deletion of any stored data. Both regulations strike a major blow in favor of the concept that ownership of personal data ultimately resides with the individual and not with companies who may profit from it.
LBMA Podcast: Burger King Swipes McDonald’s Customers, Target Experiments with AR
On this week’s LBMA podcast: AdMov, Xamoom celebrates “Silent Night,” Burger King swipes McDonald’s customers, Dunkin’ fools Portland, MA, Stella Artois’ beer-serving robot, Target selling Christmas trees with AR.
Cybersecurity Firm DEVCON Says It Can Knock Out ‘Bad Ads’ Costing Publishers Billions
In this Q&A, cyber-security company DEVCON co-founder and CEO Maggie Louie details how she says her company halts “bad ads” before they victimize publishers and their readers.
Beyond Proximity Offers: The Second Act of Beacons is Underway
Beacons have grown into a nuanced component of successful mobile marketing. We’ve learned what they do best—strengthen advertiser approaches to metrics and measurement as well as the relevance and contextual richness of on-the-ground, in- or near-store experiences—and we’ve figured out that while push notifications can be a part of the story, they aren’t the main narrative.
Evolving Our Lens for Local Ranking Factors
Blumenthal and Mihm: We in the Local Search industry are not served by relying so heavily on traditional SEO logic and tools—in our approach to the Local Pack, our understanding of the ranking factors, and even what we suggest to clients as appropriate activities.
LBMA Podcast: Spent Retail Analytics, Reveal Mobile Black Friday Report
On this week’s LBMA show: Spent retail analytics, LinkSure free global WiFi, Casino competes with AmazonGo in France, McDonald’s dancing in the streets of Bogata, Shopkick + Unilever & Walmart, Verve + AdCouncil for Goodwill. Special Research—Reveal Mobile Black Friday Report.
Mike Ragsdale Says Putting Community First Makes His ‘Indie’ 30A Site a Big Winner
In this Q&A, 30A founder Mike Ragsdale itemizes what he thinks his industry is doing wrong and how 30A, by making community paramount, has become the top revenue-producing site among independents.
5 Ways Businesses Can Leverage Location Intelligence Beyond Marketing
Michelle Zhou: Location data can provide far better optics into consumer behavior than traditional data streams. Data from smartphones, social media, and other sources can track consumer purchases and migration in real time. Using data trends and insights, businesses can develop a comprehensive understanding of their customers and make the most informed business decisions.
2018 Ranking Factors Report Emphasizes GMB and Reviews
Damian Rollison: The annual report’s main takeaways are clear: to rank competitively for local searches today, you must focus your attention on three areas: one, providing Google with as much relevant local content as possible; two, pleasing your customers, pointing them to where they can review your business, and responding to their reviews; and three, creating a useful, relevant local landing page or website with authoritative backlinks.
LBMA Podcast: Walmart’s Toy Lab, 7-Eleven & WeChat, Anything’s Big Funding Round
On this week’s LBMA show: Anything raises $42.5M, Baidu invests in Xinchao Media, Mobike + Louis Vuitton, Tencent goes all in with HERE maps, Walmart’s toy lab, 7-Eleven Canada rolls out WeChat + Alipay.
LMA in Big Push to Strengthen Local Journalism and Build Better Communities
The Local Media Association is working to build a Business Model Accelerator that will chart sustainable revenue paths for local media and, in turn, enhance the vital role that they must play in their communities. In this Q&A, LMA Chief Innovation Officer Jed Williams sketches out this far-ranging quest to give local news a central place in community and ensure the industry will be around for the long run.
CCPA: California’s version of GDPR?
The U.S. recently joined countries taking action on data privacy with the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which was signed by Governor Jerry Brown on June 28, 2018. The CCPA will protect the rights of California consumers and encourage stronger privacy online and greater transparency overall.
Google’s Backdoor Shift to a Social Network
Mike Blumenthal and David Mihm: In the case of Q&A, reviews, and the coming sports commenting feature, Google is looking to gain a better understanding of the entity, and in the case of the sharing buttons and the new ability to follow a business, Google is looking to better understand the individual so that it can improve the search experience now and in the future. That would be a very Googly social network.
LBMA Podcast: Standard Cognition, Amazon’s Holiday Catalogue
On this week’s edition of the Location-Based Marketing Association show: Standard Cognition, GOAT sneakers, NomadX at Plaza Singapura, Amazon’s Holiday Catalogue, Nike’s futuristic store, H&M testing blockchain.