News and Analysis
Constellation Announces Global Expansion, Plans to Enter New Markets
Constellation, a SaaS company that offers technology-enabled marketing and manages hyper-targeted campaigns at scale, is expanding.
Biometric Authentication in Retail: What the Future Holds
Google’s recent decision to offer biometric authentication to Chrome users is just the beginning. In both the online and offline space, more companies — including multi-location retailers — have begun using biometric authentication in payments as a way to cut down on credit card fraud and chargebacks.
Why Retailers Are Investing in Tech Companies
Companies like Ulta Beauty and Home Depot are investing $20 million and $150 million, respectively, in tech companies to claim the cutting edge of retail innovation. Retail expert Rick Berger, President at NewStore, checked in with Street Fight to explain the trend.
Commentary
How Local Businesses Should Prepare for Coronavirus
A quick Google search on this column’s headline reveals a large number of sites offering recommendations to businesses large and small about how to prepare for the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak as it moves into pandemic territory. Articles on Inc., Fast Company, and the World Economic Forum echo a common theme: Businesses need to develop a plan of action for containing the spread of the illness, as well as contingencies that allow normal operations to continue as smoothly as possible.
In the sphere of digital presence management, key players like Google, Nextdoor, and Facebook are offering recommendations to help businesses develop plans and communicate effectively with consumers who need to access their products and services. The advice comes at a time when business operations may be modified or interrupted by multiple factors such as quarantines and supply chain interruptions.
Location Weekly: Grocery Delivery in the Time of COVID-19 Alarm
In this episode of Location Weekly, the Location-Based Marketing Association covers Instacart’s doorstep grocery delivery amid the coronavirus scare, Papa Johns enjoying success with AR, 7Eleven opening an “Evolution” concept store, TapAd partnering with Gimbal, and Pandora launching interactive voice ads.
SMB Resellers and Agencies: How to Make the Most of the Conversions Objective
ROI is, of course, the ultimate goal of any advertising effort, so one might naturally ask, “Why would I ever choose an objective that’s not conversion optimized?”, or even “Why would I choose to optimize towards anything but purchase conversions?” It turns out the latter is the more complicated question, but one you can answer when armed with the right information.
It all has to do with how Facebook’s ad bidding works, which involves a combination of factors: your advertiser bid, estimated action rates (i.e. how your target audience responds to the ad), and overall ad quality. As Facebook notes, “together, estimated action rates and ad quality measure ad relevance. In fact, we subsidize relevant ads in auctions, so more relevant ads often cost less and see more results.”
Latest Posts
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.
Publishers, Advertisers Turn Focus to In-App Mobile Video
Mobile video ad spend may capture more than half of all digital video dollars in 2018 and is projected to grow 54% year over year, according to PubMatic’s Quarter Three Quarterly Mobile Index. The popularity of mobile video ads is in large part driven by consumer behavior, said Osbaldo Franco, PubMatic’s director of marketing research.
Targeting Procrastinators Could Lead to Holiday Retail Wins
Not all shoppers are created equal. According to Cardlytics’ data, procrastinators could be the key to retailers’ success this holiday season. Appealing to these procrastinating consumers means extending store hours as well as offering inventory assurance tools and gift guides.
SITA Acquires Passenger Analytics Startup MEXIA—Here’s Why That Matters for Brick-and-Mortars
In a move reflective of the growing importance of in-store analytics solutions for retailers, airport services giant SITA has acquired passenger analytics startup Mexia Interactive, the companies announced last week.
Why Are Retailers Hesitant to Explore Omnichannel Opportunities?
More than 90% of shoppers combine digital and physical channels on the path to purchase, and four in 10 online shoppers are using buy-online, pick-up-in-store (BOPIS) checkout options. But the big news coming out of the 2018 holiday season isn’t how many shoppers are taking advantage of online-to-offline fulfillment. It’s how few retailers are offering it.
Study: SEO Suffers From Lack of Context
Consumers frequently use the same terms in different ways, making it a challenge for marketers to accurately understand their online queries. Professors Jia Liu and Olivier Toubia found that digital marketers are at a distinct disadvantage as they attempt to infer content in quantifiable ways.
LBMA Podcast: Amazon’s Search Re-Targeting, Target’s Use of Runerra
Listen to This Week in Location Based Marketing, a weekly video podcast from the Location Based Marketing Association with Asif Khan & Aubriana Lopez. On the show: Amazon’s search re-targeting, Target using Runerra, Intraposition raises $1.5M, Buick integrates Yelp, Walmart goes with maps and faster checkout, Macy’s invests in VR roll-out.
From Employee to Publisher: How One Media Veteran Did It
In this Q&A, media veteran Shereen Siewert talks about the biggest move in her career—an exciting but risky gamble in which she would give up the security of a weekly paycheck to strike out on her own as an entrepreneurial, independent publisher.
How Content Partnerships Have Made Yelp a Data Amplifier
Damian Rollison: It became clear to me, during Yelp’s presentation at the recent Brandify Summit, that the company has become a data amplifier. Here I’m making use of Gib Olander’s helpful term for companies whose data finds its way into a multitude of consumer-facing channels. In this column, I break down the significance of that state of affairs for hyperlocal marketing.
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.
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