News and Analysis
Smartify Helps SMBs Generate Digital Ad Revenue from Window Inventory
A new program from Smartify Media would help small business owners generate incremental revenue from what has traditionally been an under-utilized asset — the storefront window.
7 Shoppable Video Platforms
With a number of shoppable video platforms preparing to launch or expand their offerings in 2022, and established companies like Firework finding interest from major investors like SoftBank, the phenomenon seems likely to gain popularity in the US.
6 Contextual Advertising Solutions for Brands
Unlike most types of behavioral targeting, contextual targeting doesn’t rely on third-party cookies. That makes it an especially popular option in 2022, as more U.S. states pass stringent consumer data privacy regulations. Here are six contextual advertising solutions that brands are using right now.
Commentary
The Rise of First-Party Data: Why Quality Matters Over Quantity
For years, digital marketers have paid hand over fist in the digital gold rush for data. Instead of a tangible product, tech companies earn millions in revenue from the data they collect on previous, current, and future digital consumers. But digital marketers seeking to gobble up as much data as they can for their campaigns — while not stopping to consider the source of or methods used to collect it — are taking the wrong approach. The age-old mantra of “quality over quantity” has never been more relevant in online advertising, and marketers must quickly and fully embrace first-party data or risk their digital campaigns (and bottom lines) falling flat.
GDPR Implementation Spurs New Industry Offering Compliance Services
A year and a half after GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) was passed into EU law, Kantar has found there is a vibrant industry in the United States dedicated to helping US companies comply with the new rules, as evidenced by paid search advertising activity throughout 2019.
Kantar analyzed US Google desktop and mobile text ad clicks on ads displaying for 10 GDPR-related keywords from January through September 2019, including gdpr, gdpr compliance, gdpr requirements, and what is gdpr. During the nine-month period, we found 283 advertisers in a wide range of industries sponsoring GDPR keywords, including IT companies, online security firms, software manufacturers, and business consultancies.
Are Google’s Many Broken Features Reflections of Google’s Style?
Mike to David: To some extent, the Google “method” of release quickly, break often, iterate, and finally reject or accept a change collides very directly when it interfaces with the much slower-moving real world.
David: This speaks to our ongoing antitrust discussion and whether business harm is a justifiable prong on which to spear Google. Volatility is one thing, but a broken utility is another. And realistically, because of Google’s market position, small businesses have nowhere to turn when that utility is flat-out failing on fundamental levels.
Latest Posts
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.
Street Fight Daily: Prime Day, Amazon’s Power, and Local; Google’s Mobile Speed Update and SMBs
BIG MOVES AND TOP TAKES IN LOCAL… Prime Day Showcases the Power of an E-Commerce Empire—And What It Means for Local… Why Google’s Mobile Speed Update Smells Like Trouble for Small Businesses… Simpli.fi Reaches Next Level in Precise Location Targeting…
Foursquare Announces New Chief Revenue Officer, Liz Ritzcovan
Ritzcovan’s mission will center on “client centricity.” She’ll be tasked with optimizing Foursquare’s relationships with its clients as the company seeks to make the case that its suite of resources for brands looking to connect the digital and physical worlds is both comprehensive and indispensable.
Restaurant Management Platform Toast Raises a Whopping $115 Million
Restaurant management platform Toast is announcing a $115 million Series D this morning. Courtesy of T. Rowe Price Associates, the round values Toast at $1.4 billion.
Simpli.fi Reaches Next Level in Precise Location Targeting
As of this morning, advertisers using Simpli.fi’s programmatic advertising platform will have access to Addressable Geo-Fencing, a solution that Simpli.fi’s vice president of marketing Ryan Horn says is the next logical step in the localization and personalization of programmatic advertising.
Prime Day Showcases the Power of an E-Commerce Empire—And What It Means for Local
Prime Day underscores Amazon’s power in the retail market because it compels the over 100 million consumers who pay for that service to make the most of their investment by purchasing directly from Amazon. Local businesses are hardly in a position to compete.
Why Google’s Mobile Speed Update Smells Like Trouble for Small Businesses
The murky guidelines surrounding just whom and how many people and sites the mobile speed update may affect—and how exactly businesses in the line of fire are to amend unsatisfactory practices—spells potential trouble for small businesses.
Groupon Reportedly Puts Itself on the Market
Groupon, the early pioneer in local deals that was once valued at as much as $16 billion, is on an avid hunt for a buyer, Recode reported this weekend. Executives and banking representatives at Groupon have reportedly been pursuing potential targets.
TVadSync and Unacast Partner for Cross-Platform TV/Digital Attribution
Unacast’s location data will allow TVadSync to prove with unprecedented accuracy that the campaigns it manages across TV and digital platforms are indeed driving exposed audiences to make purchases at brick-and-mortar stores.
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