News and Analysis

Smaller Brands Are Struggling with Social Commerce. Here’s Why

Social commerce is expected to grow 3x as fast as traditional e-commerce, according to a report by Accenture, to reach $1.2 trillion by 2025, but that doesn’t mean savvy marketers from smaller brands can’t find their own points of entry. By thinking outside the box and looking beyond Instagram and TikTok for attention, some midsize brands are finding opportunities to shine.

Retailers Scramble to Implement AI-Based Pricing Strategies

Supply shortages are easing, but inflation is showing no sign of slowing down. Retailers are using AI to refine their pricing strategies.

In Crowded Space, Brands Rethink Approach to CTV

Research from eMarketer shows that advertisers spent $10.3 billion on connected TV programmatic display ads in 2021, an 82% increase from the year prior. But what they got in return is anyone’s guess. For all the advancements in digital marketing, CTV advertising still remains an opaque space where advertisers know little about the shows or other ads their spots are running against. This can lead to wasted budgets, ad frequency issues, and even fraud.

Commentary

Communities: The Next Generation of Customer Engagement is Here to Stay

Today, it’s clear that the way businesses are communicating with customers is coming to another inflection point. Not only can end users opt out of messages from brands they don’t want to hear from, but they have become numb to the “spam” they receive on a daily basis. Now, new age technologies have opened up a plethora of avenues for organizations to push messages out to end users, and it begs the question, what can be done to find even more information about your audience? 

A new mode of engagement is needed to help supplement customer communication in the next generation, but how will this manifest? My money would be on community. 

LBMA Vidcast: PreciseTarget, Pinterest, Amazon Kills Dash Button

On this week’s Location-Based Marketing Association podcast: PreciseTarget, Pinterest, Pokemon Go in NYC, Amazon killing Dash button, Walgreens using Theatre, MediaMarkt rolls out Signify indoor navigation, RevealMobile adds Canadian data.

3 Things You Need to Know about Marketing on Reddit

Reddit refers to itself as the front page of the Internet. It’s a veritable goldmine for a marketer who knows how to leverage it. The trouble is, most don’t. They treat Reddit as no different from Facebook or Twitter. Here’s how to avoid making the same mistake. 

Latest Posts

LBMA Podcast: GroundTruth, General Motors, Zara, Ikea

On the show this week: Milestone Pages, GroudTruth, 180byTwo, Tesla’s drive-in, 7-Eleven facial rec., IKEA goes full TaskRabbit, GM launches peer-to-peer sharing, Zara tries AR on.

Street Fight Daily: Snap Doubles Down on Location, A Grocery Mega-Merger?

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Location May Be the X Factor for Snap’s Appeal to Advertisers… As Amazon Applies Pressure, Target and Kroger Mull a Merger… Where and When AI Can Make a Difference in Marketing…

Street Fight Daily: Zuckerberg Breaks His Silence, Voice Revolution Not Here Yet

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Zuckerberg Breaks His Silence on the Controversy Surrounding Data Security… Survey Finds Few Consumers Using Voice-Assisted Devices to Browse, Make Purchases… Amazon Customer Shopping Habits Divided by Age, With Some Surprises…

Survey Finds Few Consumers Using Voice-Assisted Devices to Browse, Make Purchases

In surveying more than 4,000 global consumers, Episerver found that although nearly 40% own voice-assisted devices, 60% of those consumers never browse on them, and 66% never make purchases on them.

Will the ‘Sustained Outrage’ of One W. Virginia Newspaper Survive Auction Block’s Hammer?

The biggest heartbreaker is what happens to those families whose long-held newspapers were dedicated to publishing all the news without fear or favor. This is the story of one of those families, the Chiltons, and their paper, the Charleston (W.Va.) Gazette-Mail, which the Chiltons owned for 111 years.

Image Recognition and Smartphone Ubiquity Create Opportunities for CPGs in Emerging Markets

The combination of advancements in image recognition technology and a growing global network of smartphone owners is shaping up to be a powerful duo for data intelligence abroad for CPG brands.

Report: Growth in Convenience Stores Presents Opportunity for CPG Marketers

If there’s one thing that Charlie Lang hopes CPG brands get from Koupon’s report, it’s that the retail landscape is changing quickly, and the convenience store category presents tremendous upside for marketers.

Street Fight Daily: Leave In-Store Shoppers Alone, Google Courts Publishers as Facebook Flails

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… In-Store Shoppers Lean on Tech, Want to Be Left Alone in Stores… While Facebook Battles Fires, Google Rolls Out Pro-Publisher Initiatives… Media Rating Council Considers Bumping up Video Ad Standards…

Report: Google Shopping Ads Taking Over Ad Spend from Traditional Formats

A new report from search intelligence company Adthena shows how consumers are interacting differently with new advertising formats and points to ad innovation as an essential brand investment.

Back to Basics: Why Every Business Should Invest in SEO

Contributor Kelsey Taylor goes back to the basics, laying out a case regarding the fundamental usefulness of SEO that might be presented to local business owners or industry newcomers.