News and Analysis

Google Pushes Maps in a More Visual Direction

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Google has been making search more visual for years. One step in this direction was making photos more prominent in search results. Now, Google is making Live View more searchable (it is Google, after all).

How Co-op Advertising is Fueling Localized Marketing Programs 

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Russ Mann, vice president of marketing at the Advertising Checking Bureau, checked in with Street Fight to discuss the state of multi-location marketing and the role co-op advertising has to play in the space.

Ad Tech and Privacy

Retailers Bet on Digital Twin Technology

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Digital twin technology creates virtual models designed to reflect both online and physical systems, and it has captured the attention of the retail market.

Commentary

Location Weekly: Burberry and Tencent Partner for World’s First Social Media-Infused Store

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In this episode of Location Weekly, the Location-Based Marketing Association covers Burberry teaming with Tencent for the world’s first social store, Voxel51 helping to keep stores healthy, Popeyes helping people to “autocorrect” their dinner plans, Foodpanda using traffic and weather data in a DOOH programmatic campaign, and Tapad and Reveal Mobile partnering to launch new audience and attribution capabilities for ad buyers.

Tracing, Tracking, and Trust: Why Tech Is on the Sidelines in Contact Tracing

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Mainly, multiple instances of data breaches committed by governments, corporations, platforms, and even data warehouses have eroded the trust citizens have when forking over sensitive and personal information. The resistance only increases as a result of Americans’ strong resistance to being told what to do, which manifested in widespread protests against mandatory quarantine restrictions in several states.    

How can this resistance be overcome? Companies and government organizations asking for personal information must build trust from the very beginning. High rates of consent require clear information to users about exactly what data citizens will share and how this data will be used and protected.

Google’s Latest Privacy Play Has Big Implications for the Open Web

Marketers, Don’t Stress About Zero-Click Search Just Yet

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Did you know that over 50% of Google searches performed do not result in a click? Did you know that Google is continuing to expand the number of queries to which they are applying zero-click SERP features?

Did you know that it’s not something that you should be too worried about yet? 

“Wait… But it’s taking away search opportunities from my website!” 

That depends on how you are defining search opportunities, so let’s jump to it. 

Latest Posts

Marijuana Advertisers Chart Uncertain Territory with Laws in Flux

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Could running ads for cannabis products put digital publishers in the crosshairs of federal regulators? It’s a question that more and more publishers are asking, even as marijuana legalization continues to spread across the U.S.

In a bid to help businesses in the cannabis industry understand what is, and isn’t, legal from an advertising perspective, Dash Two released its own guide to marijuana advertising laws. The company says it will keep its guide updated as the laws continue to evolve.

How to Identify and Connect with Your Ideal Podcast Ad Audience

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While just over half of Americans have listened to them, podcasts are finding new audiences every day. U.S. advertisers spent $479 million on podcast ads in 2018, up 53% year-over-year; that figure is expected to hit $1 billion in 2021. And those people who do listen to podcasts listen to them a LOT. Podcasts are the number one audio source by time of consumption among podcast listeners, and weekly listeners consume an average seven podcasts per week, according to Edison Research.

Podcast advertising is rapidly evolving, as are podcasts themselves. It’s no wonder, then, that advertisers could use help identifying the right podcasts for their products and connecting with podcast audiences. Here’s what you need to know about podcasts and their audiences to find the right home for your podcast advertisements. 

How Americans Shop Today

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All industries—apparel, grocery, electronics—are affected differently by the move to e-commerce, and consumers are turning to new options, including social marketplaces, disrupting what we typically think of as digital shopping. Here are some insights on major market changes, including the key to Amazon’s dominance, the industries flouting the turn to e-commerce, and a curious preference among millennials, from a recent survey of 1,000 consumers by Signs.com.

4 Ways Multi-Location Businesses Improve Marketing Return with Call Analytics

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By implementing call tracking and analytics systems, marketers at multi-location businesses can obtain valuable first-party data on the calls and conversations they generate for each location. This first-party data helps inform marketing campaigns that open doors for new customers, reinforce relationships with current customers, and increase return on marketing spend. 

Not sure how to maximize the business impact of consumer calls on your multi-location brand? Discover four things you can do now. 

LBMA Vidcast: Kroger Launches Stratum Data Platform, SoundHound Integrates HERE

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On this week’s Location-Based Marketing Association podcast: Sweden’s “The Fitting Room,” Mabata Honesty Shop, Nutella goes voice commerce, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield brings the VOID to malls, SoundHound integrates HERE, Kroger launches Stratum data platform.

Meet the SF Awards Judges: True Value, Vitamin Shoppe, Denny’s, Chamberlain Group & WPP | The Store

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The circle is complete. We’ve rounded out the full panel of judges for Street Fight’s Innovator awards (Pro tip: today is the last day to apply).

Collectively, they represent:

15,350 business locations
150,986 employees
$25+ billion in annual revenues

But who are they? Here’s the rundown.

Letter From the Editor: Local is Everything

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Last month, for example, we zeroed in on the theme of retail transformation.

This month, we extend that discussion with a focus on the connected car. As companies like Tesla continue to innovate the digital experiences in our cars, they’re becoming the ultimate “mobile device.” This will have implications for local media companies and brands that have a local presence.

Meanwhile, last week we closed the application period for the Innovator Awards. The next step is to work with our panel of judges to choose the winners. The awards will be a central part of Street Fight’s plan to continue being an authority on innovation and transformation in the location-based media and advertising worlds.

Listen to Podcast: Heard on the Street

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August Focus: Local’s Next Battleground is Your Car

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Why are connected cars important to Street Fight (and to you)? As we continue to evolve the definition of “local,” one key component of its market opportunity is offline brick-and-mortar shopping. After all, about 90% of all U.S. retail spending, to the tune of about $3.7 trillion, is completed offline in physical stores. That is usually in proximity to one’s home (thus, local).

Could an increasingly digital and connected car influence those purchases when consumers are out and about? This is one extension of the local search that consumers used to do at home but now do on their mobile devices while on the move. The car could become a third point of connection and influence.

Low-Hanging Technical SEO Fruit for Local Ranking

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Local SEO is powerful. If you run an ice cream shop out of Wichita, Kansas, then you’d probably want to show up on Google when a person there searches for ice cream. Search engines have become crucial for existing and potential customers to connect with businesses. 

Some business owners unintentionally set up obstacles to appearing on local search by improper site structure. Here are some low-hanging fruits to help your business appear for local searches.