News and Analysis

Delta Variant Leads to Shift in Consumer Behavior — Marketers Respond

With Covid-19 Delta variant cases on the rise, social distancing and sanitation have once again become top priorities for consumers. According to new data by Avionos, consumers are growing increasingly wary of shopping in physical stores due to the rise of the Delta variant. Among those consumers who shopped with a new brand during the pandemic, almost one-third cited safe in-store experiences as a top reason for choosing that brand.

Report: Privacy and Walled Gardens Risk Undermining Marketing Strategy

Marketing strategies, and the data they run on, face systemic risk in 2021. More than ever before, marketers’ access to customer data is being cut off by increased privacy restrictions from governments and private gatekeepers alike.

Retail Employee of the Future

6 Omnichannel Ad Buying Platforms for Brands

With much of the $664 billion advertising market in flux, there’s a renewed focus on omnichannel platforms that use integrated workflows to improve efficiencies and reduce redundant work. This next generation of ad buying solutions takes into account disparate channels and audiences, enabling brand marketers to automate and optimize campaigns across ecosystems.

Commentary

No Matter What Business You’re In, You Are In The Business of Selling

Kendrick Shope: I coach a lot of entrepreneurs, many of whom are brilliant at what they do, have excellent people skills, and should be setting the world on fire. Unfortunately, they’re stuck trying to make ends meet when they should be doing seven figures in a year because they haven’t mastered the art of selling. It’s a skill like any other, and once you learn it and become really good at it, your business is going to change forever. If you really want to up your sales game this year, focus on these five selling strategies.

Increasingly, Your Brand Is Its Reviews

Mihm to Blumenthal: The famous Jeff Bezos quote comes to mind: “Your brand is what other people say about you when you’re not in the room.” Increasingly, the room is not a physical place but a virtual one—and it’s not a place you own. Reviews really bring the need to run a decent business at your core into stark relief.

LBMA Vidcast: McDonald’s & Waze, Lego & Snapchat

On this week’s Location-Based Marketing Association podcast: Hermes AR package delivery, NFC forum’s payment standard, Lego + Snapchat + Kabooki, McDonald’s + Waze billboards, Geon Network, Glympse partners with Albertsons.

Latest Posts

Street Fight Daily: Walmart Touts Free Shipping Ahead of Holidays, Amazon Dominates Server-to-Server

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Walmart to Emphasize Free Shipping, Dig at Amazon, In Pre-Holidays Campaigns… Amazon Is Dominating Server-to-Server Bidding… London Mayor Praises Uber CEO’s ‘Humility’ Regarding London Ban…

Why Brand Success Is About Unique Experiences and Community (And a Massive Audience)

“Look at Amazon versus Walmart,” says GGV Capital’s Hans Tung.. “Amazon innovated much faster than Walmart. The way they approach things to make things happen fast, iterate, make changes, do a quick test, change again, test again, change again – that kind of speed is what we look for.”

Time to Take a Deep Breath — Local News Isn’t Becoming ‘Extinct’

The editors in charge of the slimmed-down newsrooms of local pure-plays know how to leverage technology, data and other information to produce coverage that, in some cases, is superior to what was produced in the so-called “golden” age of print.

Street Fight Daily: Amazon Tests New Delivery Service, Foursquare Revamps Developer Site

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Amazon Tests Its Own Delivery Service to Rival UPS and FedEx… Foursquare Revamps Its Developer Site as API Usage Soars… Will Messenger Lose Out to Snapchat and Instagram Through 2021?…

What Happens If Facebook Gets Serious About Local?

What Google is to search, Facebook is to social. Those same local business owners know that, when it comes to social marketing, a good portion of their success depends on what they and their customers do on Facebook. So if Facebook gets serious about local, could that change the local landscape? What would it look like?

4 Ways to Track Traditional Local Media Using Digital

Digital and traditional media can work together. Traditional efforts often drive users to search engines, websites and social media platforms. If you own the SERP for your brand, you’ll be able to control what the user sees as they respond to your traditional media campaigns.

Street Fight Daily: Snap Seeks Startups as Advertisers, How AI Could Improve Attribution

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Snapchat Incentivizes Startups, Especially Mobile-First Companies, to Advertise On It… How AI Could Change Attribution Tools… How Ikea Deploys AR to Improve Its Customer Experience…

Survey: Enterprise Marketers Are Increasing Local Digital Mix

As enterprise local marketers become experienced with digital tactics they originally used to promote their corporate sites, they are getting more savvy about digital marketing. Today, most of them spend less than a third of their digital budgets on local campaigns and programs, but 40% say they are increasing the local mix.

PlaceIQ Unveils Tool to Measure Holistic Impact of Ads on In-Store Visits

Quick-service restaurants that rely primarily on cash transactions have traditionally had a tough time understanding the real world impact of advertising on channels like television and desktop. A new product from PlaceIQ and comScore promises to change that.

Street Fight Daily: Uber Partners with Westfield Malls, Amazon Targets CPG Brands

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Uber Partners with Westfield to Offer Mall Lounge and Pickup/Drop-off Points… Amazon Benefits as CPG Advertisers Trim Dollars… Walmart Acquires New York Delivery Startup Parcel…