News and Analysis

mobile payments

SMBs Struggle to Accept Mobile Payments — And Lose Customers as a Result

As consumers become more familiar and comfortable paying by mobile wallet in places like transit systems with open-loop ticketing, contactless payments will become the standard in other settings, like restaurants, as well.

Policy Guardrails Mitigate Cyber Monday Security Risks

With so many aspects of this year’s holiday shopping experience outside retailers’ control—shipping delays, supply chain issues, and labor shortages, to name just a few—retailers are shifting their focus and using enhanced data security policies in their mobile apps and websites to improve the shopping experience for customers.

Google’s Latest Privacy Play Has Big Implications for the Open Web

The Local Customer Journey is Omnichannel

A robust online presence is table stakes for even “local” businesses, as the local customer journey is thoroughly integrated into online search and selling. The Uberall study also suggests local businesses should capitalize on the greater trust and emotional connection they command with customers in an era when a product from Amazon is two clicks away.

Commentary

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.

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.

Latest Posts

Selling to Multi-Location Brands: Sizing Up the Prospects

Multi-location brands have been a little slower to embrace digital technologies in support of their local marketing and advertising than SMBs, but that’s changing pretty fast. The biggest of those companies still tend to be a little conservative, but they’re shifting digital spending towards local and adopting a broader variety of tactics.

Street Fight Daily: Google Tests DIY Local-News App, Twitter Adds New Ad Tactic for Brands

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Google Is Testing a New App That Would Let Anyone Publish Local News Stories… Twitter Now Lets Advertisers Sponsor Publishers’ Moments… Morgan Stanley Says Amazon’s Red-Hot Ad Biz Not a Threat to Duopoly…

Street Culture: A Culture of Growth at PacketZoom

“Introducing [new employees] to the culture has been very important; it’s important that the people we hire are growth-oriented,” PacketZoom co-founder Chetan Ahuja says. “We want them to already be useful to the business, but their main goal is to grow and to grow with the company. They’re much more valuable that way.”

LBMA Podcast: Extreme Networks, Facebook, Daimler AG

This Week in Location Based Marketing is a weekly video podcast from the Location Based Marketing Association with Asif Khan, Rob Woodbridge & Aubriana Lopez. On the show: What3Words, Hold app, StubHub goes AR for Super Bowl, Amazon expands DASH, Clear Channel, Reebok “Get’s Pumped”, Acuity partners with Phunware.

Street Fight Daily: Benchmark’s Kalanick Suit Dismissed, IAB Releases Influencer Guidelines

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Benchmark’s Lawsuit Against Former Uber CEO Kalanick Dismissed (TechCrunch) It’s over. Benchmark’s lawsuit against former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick has now been dropped, ending one of the biggest VC-founder disputes in history. Street Culture: A Culture of Growth at PacketZoom (Street Fight) “Introducing [new employees] […]

Choice Hotels Reimagines Room Service with Delivery.com Partnership

A new partnership between Choice Hotels and delivery.com is being seen as a sign of changing times within the hospitality industry. Delivery.com is now providing a “room service-like experience” for hotel guests at Choice Hotels, allowing guests to have orders from local restaurants delivered directly to their hotel locations.

Three Candles to Light in Dark Times for Local News and Journalists

The news about local news hasn’t been good lately. But there have been three recent positive signals helping to balance the scales in the form of a digital newsgathering tool, a new survey about trust, and the survival of an important hyperlocal network in Brooklyn.

Street Fight Daily: Brands Bet on Dynamic Ads, Inside Uber’s Espionage Operation

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Brands Bet on Smarter Ads… The Tricks and Travails of Uber’s Spies… After Folding in Print, Self Finds Audience of Over 8 Million on Snapchat…

How Major Brands Are ‘Gamifying’ the Consumer Buying Experience

Although gamification itself is not a new marketing strategy, advancements in mobile apps and location technologies are providing brands with new opportunities to engage customers using these time-tested techniques. Here’s how six major brands are using gamification to change the consumer experience and promote loyalty.

Street Fight Daily: GoDaddy Acquires Main Street Hub, New York Times Leads Way on Loyalty

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… GoDaddy Is Acquiring Main Street Hub, Social Marketing Platform for SMBs… How the New York Times Uses Interactive Tools to Build Loyalty and Subscriptions… Here’s Why the Epidemic of Malicious Ads Grew So Much Worse Last Year…