News and Analysis

G2 Brings Yelp’s Peer Advice Model to Software Reviews

G2 is a software marketplace that publishes reviews from actual software users, rather than relying on industry analysis. The company recently raised $157 million in Series D funding from investors including Hubspot Ventures, Salesforce Investors, and LinkedIn.

Idomoo Launches Interactive Video Platform

Could highly personalized interactive video become the primary way that businesses communicate with customers in the future? That’s what the team at Idomoo is betting on. The company is launching a fully open, enterprise-grade platform called Living Video that will enable businesses to automatically update videos in real-time based on context and user input.

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

September Theme: Broadening Local

Street Fight covers the whole of digital marketing, but our roots lie in local search and media, and we’re returning there this month with a focus on what we’re calling Broadening Local.

Commentary

3 Revenue Growth Opportunities for SMB Marketing and Ad Agencies

While SMB digital marketing spend has seen a steady rise, SMBs are being more conservative about the agencies and vendors with which they partner. In the transparency era, consolidating spend with a select group of trusted agency partners that offer multiple core services is now the norm.

For agencies that cater to SMB brands, these trends have created opportunities and challenges. There is money to be had, but only organizations that differentiate themselves from the competition and can deliver clear ROI will benefit. So how can SMB agencies show their value to brands and ensure revenue growth? There are three opportunity areas, in particular, that can help.

The High Stakes of Identity

Identification is the key to relevant, timely, and cohesive cross-channel marketing that increases sales and builds brand loyalty. Do it right, and you’ll achieve the kind of truly personalized marketing of which our predecessors could only dream. Here are the major tenets of a successful, privacy-aware strategy for storing data on consumers in a multichannel landscape.

Publishers Need to Pivot to First-Party Data

Rather than developing entirely new inventory strategies, which is a heavy lift, publishers can look to what they already have—rich behavioral, subscriber, and social data, most of it seriously under-leveraged. When used properly, first-party data can help publishers drive revenue in two ways—directly and indirectly. It can help them to stop working harder and start working smarter.

Latest Posts

Street Fight Daily: Amazon Undercuts Rivals Ahead of Holidays, Facebook Expands Messenger Ads

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Amazon Discounts Other Sellers’ Products As Holidays Approach… More Brands Will Be Able to Send Sponsored Messages on Facebook Messenger… Uber’s Business Has Recovered After #DeleteUber, But Lyft Made Lasting Gains…

Openings and New Hires at Infogroup, Vistar Media, Unacast

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 Functionize, Emissary, X-Mode and dataPlor.

Raise Report: Privy, Reflektion, InVision 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 Glint, Instart Logic, Wibbitz, ActionIQ, and Connatix.

LBMA Podcast: Hilton Hotels, Hatch Loyalty, Twitter

This Week in Location Based Marketing is a weekly video podcast from the Location Based Marketing Association with Asif Khan and Rob Woodbridge. On the show: Phann music, Mastercard goes AR, Yext, Plot Projects, Staples + WorkBar.

Why Local News Sponsorships Are More Relevant than Ever

Street Fight Daily: DNAinfo & Gothamist Shut Down, CNN Wades Into Commerce

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… DNAinfo and Gothamist Shuttered Suddenly by Ricketts Following Vote to Unionize… CNN Dips Into Commerce with a Digital Product Guide… NYT Beats Profits Estimate as Digital Subscription Count Soars…

DNAinfo and Gothamist Shuttered Suddenly by Ricketts Following Vote to Unionize

The delete button has hit two well-known and established local news sites. The twin closures came a week after the staff at DNAinfo New York voted to be unionized under Writers Guild of America East.

GateHouse’s UpCurve Acquires Closely to Complement ThriveHive

Closely will be integrated into ThriveHive’s digital solutions, deepening UpCurve’s ability to aggregate and analyze SMB data. The buy enhances ThriveHive’s data-driven product suite by marrying its guided marketing platform with social media management software.

Borrell Sizes Up What’s Behind Local Ad Media Choices

We know from the numbers that local advertisers are increasingly choosing social media to place their messages. But they’re also turning out to be cautious businesspeople who like to maintain a balance in their placements among multiple media, according to a new study from Borrell Associates.

Street Fight Daily: Facebook Rides Mobile to Riches, Amazon Picks an Agency

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Facebook Registers Soaring Ad Revenue, Buttressed by Mobile… Amazon Consolidates Billion-Dollar Media-Buying Business with IPG Mediabrands… For First Time, More Holiday Shoppers Will Use Mobile Than Desktop…

Web.com Acquires Acquisio, Adding to Its Suite of Small Business Products

Web.com announced today that it is acquiring the assets of Montreal-based Acquisio and adding them to its growing stable of small business digital products. Acquisio brings to the table a data science tools platform that increasingly focuses on artificial intelligence and automation.