News and Analysis
Study: Multi-Location Businesses Underestimate Power of Local Digital Strategy
Marketing technology has changed the way consumers find, choose, and return to businesses. While the majority of multi-location businesses have successfully implemented broad strategies to be discovered by consumers, research shows many are failing to fully leverage the latest tools for local discovery, engagement, and conversion.
Commentary
Personalized Marketing is a Must Right Now
Today, marketers have the luxury of being able to see consumers through the entire advertising funnel, enabling them to target consumers based on where they are in the buying process — from introduction of a product all the way to purchase intent. Brands have the ability, either in-house or via third-party vendors, to create and target ads that scale cross-device and cross-channel, reducing repetition, eliminating ad fatigue, and enhancing consumer experience throughout the funnel.
They can, and should, A/B test different messages, offers, and calls to action in real time to determine what resonates with each consumer down to the color of the button that generates more engagement. Marketers can do all of this across programmatic display, video, social, on YouTube and over-the-top (OTT) TV. So, why aren’t they?
No Longer Alternative: The Rapidly Approaching Future of Local Payment Methods
In Asia, consumers typically prefer mobile e-wallets. Various bank transfer methods are popular across Europe. And in Latin America, many consumers rely on cash to pay for online shopping. These local payment methods (or LPMs) have been previously referred to by the industry as alternative payment methods (APMs), but the reality is that they are — globally speaking — no longer the alternative. These LPMs facilitate the needs of different geographies, cultures, and domestic economies across the globe.
Yet despite the fact that most consumers across the globe rely on LPMs, we’re still seeing a lack of adoption of these payment methods by online merchants in the US and UK. But, as we dive further into the digital age, it is a matter of when, not if, the trend will need to shift. Let’s explore the unique factors driving consumer behavior, payment preferences, and how merchants can best position themselves for the future of commerce.
Latest Posts
LBMA Vidcast: Square Adds DoorDash and Postmates
On this week’s Location-Based Marketing Association podcast: AppNexus rebrands to Xandr Invest with AT&T data, Cerebro Platform hyperlocal DOOH, Welcome travel itinerary app, McDonald’s McNugget experience in the UK, Square adds DoorDash & Postmates, iOS 13 to be much more location-sharing friendly.
OOH Emerges as Strong Digital Channel for CPGs
Consumer-packaged goods shoppers trust out-of-home advertisements more than those delivered on any other channel, a new report on CPGs and advertising from Vistar Media and MFour indicates. Fifty-three percent of consumers say they trust the content in OOH ads, more than any other single medium.
Why Startups Should Aim to Partner with Larger Companies
If not to scale up quickly and earn unicorn status, what should startups be aiming to achieve? In essence, the answer is sustainable growth, and in recent years we have seen founders look to corporate partnerships as a viable way of achieving this. Corporate-startup partnerships are collaborations where an established company enters into a mutually beneficial relationship with an agile startup.
Brand Safety is a Brand Authenticity Problem
Marketers know that in a world of globalized competition, consumers are one click away from choosing a different product or service. Taking a stand can help brands appear righteous and earn consumer loyalty, which is why brand safety scandals necessitate a massive and speedy PR response. However, responding to or apologizing for such scandals can only be perceived as authentic the first time around—not the second time, and definitely not the third. The endless cycle of brand safety scandals reveals one of two things about today’s brands—they’re either lemmings, or they don’t really care about brand values.
Heard on the Street, Episode 28: Location-Based Survival of the Fittest, With Gimbal
According to Gimbal’s SVP of location platforms Adrian Tompsett, the key to the location business is having a long-term and holistic view of customer value. That means using location intelligence to go beyond just triggering promotions to increase the customers’ basket size, instead using the technology in ways that will provide additional value in the long term.
B2B Video Marketing Grows Up, Getting Briefer and Garnering More Attention
The standards for B2B video marketing are rising as marketers get the hang of the hottest, no longer so new medium. Marketers are learning to keep things short and sweet, decreasing the average video length from six to four minutes from 2017 to 2018, and audiences are tuning in longer, Vidyard reports in its annual video in business report.
Outsourced or In-House Delivery? We Did the Math
Local delivery is rapidly becoming a must-have for all kinds of businesses—people have become accustomed to online ordering and speedy delivery. According to a Go People survey, 65% of retailers will offer same-day delivery by the end of 2019, and according to Technomic, food delivery volume will grow by 12% year-over-year from 2019 to 2023. The question isn’t whether your business should offer delivery, but how.
TRUSTX Takes Aim at Opaque Programmatic Trading Practices
The lack of transparency in the programmatic space has finally reached a tipping point. According to a survey on the state of programmatic media buying, conducted by Digiday, 27% of media buyers say the greatest concern they have with programmatic advertising is the lack of transparency. While many players in the space are claiming that their hands are tied, and agencies continue to push back against audits, upstart technology firms are carving out niches as leaders in the push to bring trust into programmatic advertising.
Tim Cook Demands New Commitment to Responsibility from Big Tech
With the moral and commercial high ground in clear sight, Tim Cook used the spotlight at Stanford University’s commencement ceremony Saturday to slam Big Tech peers Google, Facebook, and Twitter for failing to take responsibility for the hateful content and disinformation on their platforms.
How to Use Facebook’s Simplified Campaign Structure to Your Advantage
It’s a brave new advertising world. The algorithms are taking over, whether human advertising managers like it or not. Our best bet is to understand how the algorithms work and to give them the freedom, the data, the budgets, and the creative assets they need for optimal performance. The Facebook algorithm will take away budget lever from humans when Campaign Budget Optimization becomes mandatory in September 2019.
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Why TV Remains the Heartbeat of Local Connection