News and Analysis

Retailers Turn to AI to Assist with Forecasting Challenges

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With machine learning and AI, retailers have been able to navigate the continued imbalance between supply and demand. This is especially true for digital-first retailers and on-demand businesses. The number of online grocery shoppers increased by 35 million during the pandemic. That opened the door to new opportunities, but it also opened the door to certain logistical challenges that grocers never experienced previously. For example, online grocery shoppers expect the items in their mobile apps to be in-stock and available for delivery immediately, which is different from a shopper who casually browses store aisles to see what’s available at a brick-and-mortar location.

Verizon Provides FLoC Alternative. Will It Work?

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Verizon became the latest player to compete against Google’s FloCs this month with the launch of its new Next-Gen Solutions tool. The move marks a broader shift in ad tech toward contextual ads.

Fanplayr Allows Advertisers to Do More with First-Party Data

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With 88% of marketers citing the collection and storage of first-party data as a “high priority,” a startup called Fanplayr is stepping in with a solution.

Commentary

Voice Search Readiness in 2019 and Beyond

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Bernadette Coleman: 2019 is here. While the focus in recent weeks has been predictions on the digital marketing trends that are expected to emerge this year, I would argue that one of the most important measures brands need to take in 2019 is to implement a full-scale voice search readiness strategy, if they have not already.

food

LBMA Vidcast: Kroger Innovates, Location Sciences Raises Capital

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On this week’s Location-Based Marketing Association show: Phillips 66 + Honda, Location Sciences raises capital, City of Los Angeles sues IBM/Weather Channel, Mall of America, Kroger goes unmanned for delivery, Heineken sees geo-marketing success in UK.

A Compliance-Privacy Tsunami Will Slam Into the Data Ecosystem in 2019: Big Changes to Watch

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SPONSORED, by Neil Sweeney, CEO of Freckle IoT / Killi: The takeaway for 2019 will be consent management. Why is this going to be the trend? Two reasons — the first is because consent management is nonexistent in today’s technology stacks (and, no, the catch-all ‘do you accept’ button will not be sufficient moving forward for consent management). And, second: a compliance/privacy tsunami will bear down on the entire world (not just advertising) in 2019. Every trend in 2019 will tie back to a company’s ability, or inability, to check the box on consent management.

Latest Posts

Report: Matching Up With Local Merchants’ Marketing Objectives

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Our analysis of local merchants shows that SMBs are spending more money on digital marketing — particularly social media and email — because they find those channels most effective. But there appears to be some missing links between new customer acquisition and their favorite tactics.

Is Your Local Dealership Prepared for a New Era of Car Buying?

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The automotive space is extremely competitive and with automotive sales down 13.2 percent, the competition could not be fiercer. In order to remain afloat in today’s challenging sales environment, auto marketers need to rethink how they get high-intent buyers to their stores.

Street Fight Daily: Microsoft & Amazon Integrate Cortana/Alexa, USA Today Personalizes Homepage

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… In Surprising Move, Microsoft and Amazon Integrate Voice Assistants… USA Today’s Facebook-Like, Personalized Mobile Site Succeeds in Grabbing User Attention… For New Uber CEO, Fresh Challenges Already Emerge…

Captivate Adds Content Partners in Push for a 360-Degree Ad Solution

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The company has 12 new content providers joining its digital place-based media network target consumers on screens in thousands of building elevators and lobbies across the U.S. The partners include Vox Media, Bloomberg, Billboard, Quartz, and The Hollywood Reporter, as well as Stadium sports video content.

Hearst’s Barrett on Talks With Facebook: Progress, but More Needs to Happen

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The president of Hearst Newspapers Digital Media, details what he sees as the current promise of Facebook’s nascent effort to promote subscriptions for local news publishers, and assesses the state of other major, yet-to-be-resolved issues for the publishers as they weigh their future on and with the tech giant.

How Wells Fargo Connects Locally Via Sports, Philanthropy, and Digital

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Gary Korotzer, EVP of marketing and brand strategy and community bank marketing for Wells Fargo, says that through a mix of efforts the bank weaves its way into the day-to-day lives and needs of its customers.

Street Fight Daily: Self-Driving Cars Now Deliver Pizzas, Amazon Expands Advertising

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Ford and Domino’s to Deliver Pizza Using Self-Driving Cars in New Test… Amazon Grows Its Programmatic Ad Business… Uber’s CEO Choice Faces a Question of Ambitions…

The Fallacy of Google’s “Micro-Moment” Positioning

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“I see the customer journey as the customer journey wherever it leads,” Mike Blumenthal tells David Mihm. “I see Google’s efforts to oversimplify it into discrete points in time as a gross form of reductionism that doesn’t help us understand that journey better. “

Swedish Location Management Company PinMeTo Secures H&M Investment

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Local presence management vendor PinMeTo is celebrating an investment from the retail giant in a tactical round the company sees as a stepping stone to further expansion. “Our goal is and has been to expand globally in 2018,” says COO Andre Tiwari, “and H&M brings invaluable knowledge and support for that goal.”

Street Fight Daily: Expedia CEO to Be Offered Uber Job, Consumer Brands Cut Ad Spend

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Expedia CEO Dara Khosrowshahi Will Be Offered Job as Uber CEO… CPG Ad Cuts Raise Tough Questions for Digital Media… Food Delivery Creates Tech Headache for Some U.S. Restaurants…