News and Analysis

Shoppability is the New Black

But like many Covid-driven trends, shoppable content has been accelerated by shifting circumstances. And now it’s on a collision course with the holiday season. This means that the companies that are positioned to capture that spend will reap the rewards this year. We’ve seen much jockeying in the ad tech world for this very reason.

Audio

Will Audio-Only OOH Be 2021’s Biggest Ad Trend?

The Trade Desk’s recent decision to expand its omnichannel demand-side platform (DSP) to support audio out-of-home (AOOH) through partnerships with Vistar Media and Vibenomics is just the latest in a string of high-profile moves in the audio marketing space. With an extension of OpenRTB integrations to include audio-only OOH, The Trade Desk is moving into the forefront as the first omnichannel DSP to support the extension and allow advertisers to programmatically purchase audio inventory from networks like Vibenomics.

BeOp Adds Conversation to Post-Cookie Contextual Advertising

The contextual, conversational advertising firm BeOp believes it has the solution to the death of cookies. The company, which works with more than 90% of premium publishers in its home country across the Atlantic, connects advertisers with consumers reading content related to their products and services. But what distinguishes BeOp from contextual ad competitors is the style of its ads: conversational quizzes and questions that drive engagement and zero-party, or fully consensual and explicit, data collection.

Commentary

At I/O, Google Offers a New Vision for Local Search

The notion of “helping you get things done,” emphasized by Sundar Pichai in his I/O keynote, provides a through-line for many of the event’s announcements. It struck me watching the presentations how thoroughly Google has become a consumer electronics company, a marketer of devices where search is more a central feature than a standalone product. Google, in other words, has become thoroughly dedicated to marketing its famous search capabilities in the context of devices that help you perform daily tasks. In the process, it is transforming local search and how we relate to the world with electronic devices.

LBMA Vidcast: Factual, Walgreens, Burger King

On this week’s Location-Based Marketing Association podcast: Factual partners with Airship & Braze, Class action against all 4 U.S. mobile operators, Decathalon opens first U.S. store, Burger King delivers in Mexico City traffic jams, Para’Kito goes AR with Georgia Pacific, Walgreens teams with Narvar.

Twitter Time: Responsible Writing in Today’s Media Landscape

If criticism of Twitter and the news media is ubiquitous, it is largely because content on those platforms so often fails to rise to the challenge of responsibility. It aims to produce outrage and push partisan narratives without interrogating its assumptions and all the facts in play. It lacks thought at a time when the endless and rapid reproduction of content in digital space demands we be more thoughtful than ever because we never know where and in how many places our words will reappear.

Latest Posts

State of Hyperlocal 2018: Very Early Returns From Street Fight’s Annual Survey

It’s a truism in tech businesses that you should be just a little ahead of your customers, but not too far beyond their current focus. Street Fight’s third annual State of Hyperlocal survey aims to assist in that, as well as help companies prioritize their R&D and product marketing and development.

Street Fight Daily: In-House Programmatic Expands, Facebook Demotes Engagement-Baiting Posts

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Transparency and Brand-Safety Concerns Drive Expansion of In-House Programmatic… Facebook Will Soon Demote Posts That Beg for Likes, Comments, and Shares… Refinery29 Lays Off Staff, Citing a ‘Correction in the Digital Media Space’…

CraveLabs Launches Self-Service Location Intelligence Solution

In what could be seen as a signal of things to come for the mobile-location industry, CraveLabs is opening up its platform and launching a suite of self-service tools to give media planners and location analysts more open access to the company’s suite of location intelligence solutions.

Jobs and New Openings at Qualtrics, Vivial and Reveal Mobile

Every two weeks, Geoff Michener covers some of the latest openings and new hires in this dynamic industry. This week’s edition includes moves and new openings at Sinclair Broadcast Group, Townsquare Media, and Balehu.

Raise Report: Nextdoor, Bizzabo, iZettle Lock Down New Funding

Every two weeks, we round up some of the biggest fundraises taking place in hyperlocal marketing, commerce, and tech. This week’s edition includes funding for Fetch Robotics, PhoneWagon, Chattermill, and Kasisto.

LBMA Podcast: MapBox Buys FitnessAR, GM Launches Marketplace

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: Schiphol Airport, Kettle Brand’s Tater Tracker, Singapore Government, Microsoft, and Gravy Analytics.

Street Fight Daily: Google Sued Over Fraud Refunds, Net Neutrality Repealed

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Google Sued for Allegedly Not Refunding Advertisers Hit by Fraud… The FCC Is Ending Net Neutrality, Presenting New Concerns for Brands and Tech Companies… H&M Plunges as Digital Rival Zara Thrives…

Will ‘Moonlighting’ Startup Help Newspapers Regain Classified Revenue?

Three major local newspaper groups — McClatchy, Gannett and tronc — are partnering with Moonlighting to build a new, mobile-first base for their job classifieds, which were a big revenue source in the print era but have been devastated by new-generation digital sites.

How Brands Can Use Location Intelligence to Target Travelers

As consumers pass through airports, train stations, and bus terminals this holiday season, it’s a good reminder of how brands can use travel hubs as sites to identify, understand, and reach their ideal audiences.

Street Fight Daily: Target Acquires Shipt, Facebook to Stop Paying Publishers for Video

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Target Acquires Instacart Competitor Shipt to Compete with Amazon… Facebook Plans to Stop Paying Publishers to Make Videos for News Feed… Uber Under Criminal Investigation, Justice Department Confirms…