News and Analysis

BrandMuscle Releases Markie, a Local Marketing Virtual Assistant

The classic SMB marketing problem is that SMBs simply do not have the staff or time required to coordinate sophisticated digital marketing campaigns. BrandMuscle is stepping in to solve the problem with Markie, a local marketing virtual assistant that analyzes opportunities and points operators toward ideal next steps.

How Will AR Glasses Impact Mobile Marketing?

While Meta races to build the company’s first augmented reality glasses by 2024, mobile marketers are already looking for opportunities to capitalize on the new technology.

The Growth of App Store Optimization and How Tracking Changed After ATT

We know tracking got harder after Apple implemented its AppTrackingTransparency policy, which forced users to opt into cross-app tracking on iOS. But how exactly? For which verticals? When will Google make a similar move? And how has mobile marketing changed as a result?

Commentary

LBMA Vidcast: Verizon Media Turns to AR; Uber Testing Essential Grocery Delivery Down Under

On this week’s Location-Based Marketing Association podcast: Verizon Media goes AR, Pared app for restaurants, Veeve re-invents the shopping cart, Uber testing milk/bread delivery in Australia, Albert Heijn piloting their own Amazon GO, Apple quietly adds UWB to iPhone 11.

3 Ways DTC Brands Impact Legacy CPG Playbooks

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands have forced legacy CPG brands into a major strategy shift. The rumblings of the digital transformation signaled change was coming, and the rise of DTC brands has led CPGs to rethink consumer engagement and the marketing tactics necessary to achieve that goal. And, in today’s digital-first marketplace, CPG margins are tightening because of the competition from DTCs as well as Amazon’s white-label product lines.

The result of these challenges sees the CPG playbook evolving to meet the digital-first ecosystem through tactics including investing in acquisitions, moving advertising budgets into digital, and including emerging marketing channels such as experiential marketing to create brand awareness and make direct consumer connections.

Physical Stores May Resemble Our Newsfeeds in the Near Future

We’re currently living in a time of unprecedented change in the marketing and advertising industries. One of the most interesting emerging trends is the incorporation of new advertising opportunities within physical stores, in ways that will remind you of your social media newsfeeds.

If you’re a member of Generation X, or even an older Millennial, you probably remember walking through the aisles in grocery stores and grabbing coupons out of plastic dispensers. What we will see occurring in the future is the 21st Century’s version of the coupon machine — the personalized newsfeed-ification of physical stores.

Latest Posts

Openings and New Hires at Verve, Yelp, Star Tribune

Every few weeks, Geoff Michener takes stock of some of the latest hires and openings in hyperlocal marketing, tech, and media. This edition includes openings and new hires at Digital Remedy, Shoptiques, adMarketplace, and Motista.

Raise Report: JumpCrew, Gamalon, Tailor Brands Score New Funding

Every two or three weeks, we round up some of the biggest fundraises taking place in hyperlocal marketing, commerce, and tech. This week’s edition includes funding for Good Eggs, MemSQL, Auth0, and Dashdash.

Street Fight Daily: Email Closes Path to Purchase, Ad Tech Courts Subscription-Based Publishers

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Email Lures Back E-Shoppers With Abandoned Carts… Ad Tech Vendors Are Pitching Themselves to Publishers as Subscription Saviors… Facebook Lets Advertisers Target Users Based on ‘Sensitive’ Interests…

Consumers Demand Personalization, Range of Features from Brand Apps

Consumers demand high and varied functionality from brand apps. About three in five consumers expect promotions and exclusive deals and loyalty programs, and half want to make purchases within the app, a report released this week by digital and mobile development firm WillowTree indicated.

With Rover, David Arkin Takes a Mobile-First, Enjoyable Approach to Local News

American Hometown Publishing details how the company’s brand-new publication Rover—launched two weeks ago in suburban Nashville—aims to present news to its readers as an “enjoyable experience.”

Street Fight Daily: Consumers Want More from Brand Apps, Google Beefs Up on Big Data Analytics

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Consumers Demand Personalization, Range of Features from Brand Apps… Chasing AWS and Azure, Google Acquires Cask Data to Beef Up on Big Data Analytics… In the Pivot to Paid, Publishers Fear the Churn Spiral…

What Gmail’s Redesign Means for Email Marketers

Google’s recent announcement that it would launch a major Gmail redesign and roll out new features was met with a collective ‘meh’ from users, but Gmail’s new features could bring big changes for email marketers.

Cousins Subs Leverages Social, Marketing Tech to Stay Local

Look at the menu board at Cousins Subs, and you’ll immediately notice how important local is to the restaurant’s brand. But the commitment extends beyond the Wisconsin cheddar cheese featured among the Midwest chain’s list of local ingredients—it goes all the way back to how the brand chooses to represent itself on social channels.

Street Fight Daily: Snap Wins With Programmatic AR Ads, How Cousins Subs Keeps It Local

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Snapchat’s Programmatic AR Ads Are Gaining Traction… Whole Foods Will Give Amazon Prime Customers 10% Off on Sale Items… Another Ad Tech Firm Reduces European Operations Ahead of GDPR…

Dstillery and Captivate Partner to Go Beyond Location-Based Targeting

Audience targeting is getting smarter, and reaching new customers ideal for a given brand’s campaign is getting more feasible thanks to a partnership between location-based digital video network Captivate and marketing intelligence firm Dstillery.