News and Analysis
Constellation Agency Helps Drive the Auto Industry into a New Era
The auto industry needs a tune-up. Customer service is getting faster across verticals amid the Covid-19 e-commerce boom. But all auto customers know that the sales experience in that industry has hardly changed — and it’s a hassle. Show up to the local dealership, find out if the car you want is even there, and of course, haggle with the dealer.
Diana Lee’s Constellation Agency is offering a solution.
Commentary
Superbowl Ad Roundup: The Local Edition
Several Superbowl ads touched on key themes in local such as multi-location brand advertisers (Burger King) and locally relevant technology like voice search (Amazon Alexa). And of course, there were lots of car commercials—an inherently local product category given the offline shopping component.
Why Ad Tech Needs to Shift Toward a Managed-Service Model
Alexandra Theriault: The expense of in-housing and the programmatic talent shortage are long-term issues. Currently, in-housing runs contrary to the general trend of reliance on outsourcing and on-demand technologies (like SAAS) that allow businesses to focus on their core competencies instead of wasting resources on peripheral concerns. That’s why, although it might seem like the market is going to a self-service model, for many marketers it’s not the most practical or efficient option.
Latest Posts
The Shift in B2SMB: It’s All About Platforms
Major changes are coming to SMB marketing as the market shifts away from media towards cloud-based services, artificial intelligence, marketing automation and location marketing. This cluster of tech movements represent real opportunities to help SMBs target and engage customers, and become more efficient.
Street Fight Daily: Verizon Offers Rewards for User Data, LinkedIn Sharpens AdTech Strategy
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Verizon Wants to Build an Advertising Juggernaut. It Needs Consumer Data First… LinkedIn Bolsters AdTech Game, Launches Audience Network… WhatsApp Tools and Features for Businesses Are Coming…
6 Mobile Customer Service Platforms for Retailers
Tech vendors are stepping in with mobile solutions designed to expand the ways store associates interact with customers. These solutions allow employees to do everything from checking inventory and processing transactions on smartphones to accessing real-time information about current promotions and customer purchase histories.
Street Fight Daily: Online Brands Go Brick-and-Mortar, Voice-Assistant Arms Race Escalates
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Why E-Commerce Brands Are Opening Brick-and-Mortar Stores… Amazon and Apple Escalate Battle of Virtual Assistants… Tech Companies, Led by Amazon, Spend More Than Any Other U.S. Companies on R&D…
GTCR Acquires Majority Stake in Simpli.fi
GTCR, a Chicago-based private equity firm, has acquired a majority stake in Simpli.fi, a programmatic advertising platform that helps brands master local marketing at scale. The Simpli.fi management team, headed up by co-founders Frost Prioleau and Paul Harrison, will remain in charge of the company’s operations.
At Liftoff, a Classic Formula for Company Culture
It’s never too early to be intentional about establishing and promoting the key values you want your team to emulate, says Liftoff’s CEO Mark Ellis. It provides a set of criteria against which to assess candidates from a cultural fit perspective, as well as a rationale for promoting certain employee behaviors and discouraging others.
Street Fight Daily: Postmates Sheds Employees, What Oath CEO Learned from Leading Patch
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Postmates Laid Off All Its Cities Managers This Week… What Oath CEO Tim Armstrong Learned from Patch’s Struggles… Amazon Pumps Resources into Alexa to Maintain Dominance as Competition Heats Up…
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The Road Ahead: What Autonomous Cars Teach Us About Marketing Automation