News and Analysis

Brick-and-Mortar in a Post-Covid World

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After months of shopping primarily online, and taking advantage of services like same-day deliveries and curbside pickups, can shoppers be persuaded to come back into physical stores?

SMBs Seek Speedy Relief to Recover in 2021

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The Biden administration is pledging $15 billion in grants to help businesses, and $35 billion for small business financing programs, as part of its new American Rescue Plan. But many grants and recovery programs have long timelines, and business owners are saying they need more immediate support.

Predictions Roundup: Location Consolidation and the Rise of BOPIS

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A roundup of top digital marketing, SEO, and location intelligence experts predicts location consolidation, the re-humanization of digital marketing, and the dominance of Google My Business and new retail features such as BOPIS in 2021.

Commentary

Will AR Bring Together the Best of Online and Offline Shopping?

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Mike Boland: We know about the advantages of e-commerce. There’s more supply, transparency, cost efficiency, inventory (a.k.a “endless aisle”), and the ability to dynamically search and filter product attributes. AR can engender a sort of hybrid UX that brings these features to store aisles. The losers in the next era of retail will be those who try to fight this experiential innovation.

LBMA Podcast: Amazon’s Search Re-Targeting, Target’s Use of Runerra

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Listen to This Week in Location Based Marketing, a weekly video podcast from the Location Based Marketing Association with Asif Khan & Aubriana Lopez. On the show: Amazon’s search re-targeting, Target using Runerra, Intraposition raises $1.5M, Buick integrates Yelp, Walmart goes with maps and faster checkout, Macy’s invests in VR roll-out.

From Employee to Publisher: How One Media Veteran Did It

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In this Q&A, media veteran Shereen Siewert talks about the biggest move in her career—an exciting but risky gamble in which she would give up the security of a weekly paycheck to strike out on her own as an entrepreneurial, independent publisher.

Latest Posts

LMA’s Innovation Sleuth Finds ‘Compelling’ Breakthroughs in News Industry

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“It’s easy to laser in on the splashy headlines about M&A activity and innovation reports, but quietly, there’s a palpable spirit of innovation at work in local media across newspapers, broadcasters, and pure plays,” says the LMA’s Jed Williams.

Street Fight Daily: Snap Throws Publishers and Brands a Bone, Lyft Exceeds 1M Rides Per Day

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Snapchat Adds Linking Feature, a Boost for Publishers and Brands… Lyft is Doing Over 1 Million Rides Per Day.. Apple News May Let Publishers Sell Ads Their Own Way…

SMB Index: Local Stocks Down 2.8% in June

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The SCP SMB Index declined 2.8% in June, after climbing for 2 consecutive months. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones were both up 0.3% and 1.2% respectively. while the Nasdaq was down 0.9%. Groupon led the gainers, up 27.6% in June after dropping 23.8% in May. HubSpot led the list of losers, down 8.8% during the month.

One Size Does Not Fit All in the SMB Digital Market

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“At the very least you have to recognize your day-to-day experiences both discovering and interacting with small businesses are wildly different from customers in rural markets,” David Mihm tells Mike Blumenthal in their biweekly chat.

Street Fight Daily: Verizon Seeks Massive Data Deal, Yelp’s Google Grudge

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Is DexYP the Consolidator That Local Has Been Waiting for?… Verizon’s Plan to Challenge Google and Facebook is Fraught with Challenges… Yelp’s Six-Year Grudge Against Google…

Dead Fingers Still Walking?

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While Google and Facebook may have a lock on consumers and big advertisers, in no way do they have a lock on SMB advertisers. If Dex Media/YP can provide a better experience for its advertisers, it’s got a real shot at keeping those fingers walking well into the future.

Is DexYP the Consolidator That Local Has Been Waiting for?

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On the brand side, the challenge DexYP will face is reinventing the brand to be relevant for today’s younger business owners. Millennial entrepreneurs attach no value whatsoever to the Yellow Pages brand and history.

Tech Giants and Others Pooling Resources to Support Small Businesses’ Use of Technology

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Big name tech companies including Facebook, Google, Square, SalesForce, Chase Bank, and many others are offering the knowledge they have acquired on the way up to small businesses that might not be getting all the help they need.

Raise Report: Freshly, Rinse, Kinetica Secure New Funding

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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 Growbots, Sense, Samara, and Kepyr.

Street Fight Daily: Facebook Debuts Monthly Marketing Report, Blue Apron IPOs With a Whimper

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Facebook Begins Release of Monthly Marketing Metrics Report… Blue Apron’s IPO Has No Pop But Plenty of Questions… Amazon’s New Video Device, Echo Show, Is Getting Publisher Attention…