News and Analysis
Retailers Turn to AI to Assist with Forecasting Challenges
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?
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
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
LMA in Big Push to Strengthen Local Journalism and Build Better Communities
The Local Media Association is working to build a Business Model Accelerator that will chart sustainable revenue paths for local media and, in turn, enhance the vital role that they must play in their communities. In this Q&A, LMA Chief Innovation Officer Jed Williams sketches out this far-ranging quest to give local news a central place in community and ensure the industry will be around for the long run.
CCPA: California’s version of GDPR?
The U.S. recently joined countries taking action on data privacy with the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which was signed by Governor Jerry Brown on June 28, 2018. The CCPA will protect the rights of California consumers and encourage stronger privacy online and greater transparency overall.
What Will AR Mean for Consumer Brands?
What’s driving AR today? And what does it mean for big consumer brands? Our lead analyst Mike Boland tackles these questions in this week’s Road Map column, which delves into the tech giants’ investments in AR and what they mean for the future of XR-driven brand advertising.
Latest Posts
Google’s Product Bid for DIY Wallet Share
“Google has been on a tear this past month in the DIY realm,” notes Mike Blumenthal in his bi-monthly conversation with David Mihm. “Three major product rollouts in a 30-day span; Websites, Posts and now SMS messaging. And Google only needs uptake on one of them to get a chance to sell Adwords Express.”
Three Lessons from the Dex Media/YP Merger
For Dex Media and YP to become DexYP, they had to teach one another three lessons that every business in the local space should know: the primacy of distribution, the fallacy of stagnation, and the inevitability of market consolidation.
Street Fight Daily: Snap’s Location Partnerships Yield Fruit, Paid Search Outperforms Social
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Snapchat’s Foursquare and Factual Partnerships Double Geofilter Usage… Paid Search Advertising Still Outranks Social in Performance… Amazon Might Launch Its Own Messaging App That Would Allow Users to Order Food…
Job Changes at DexYP, Pinterest, Cuebiq, and Vendasta
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 Mono Solutions, Groupon and HomeStars .
Amazon’s Prime Day Brought Buyers to Other Brand Retailers As Well
In the afterglow of the annual shopping event, Amazon announced that Prime Day “grew by more than 60 percent compared to the same 30 hours last year.” But rival retailers also seized the opportunity to market competing offers and discounts during the event to consumers.
Raise Report: New Funding for Upserve, Brandless, OnboardIQ
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 Josh.ai, Datatron, Sendence, and ZeroFox.
LBMA Podcast: Patron + Foursquare, Snap’s Map, Verve Acquires Matchinguu
This Week in Location Based Marketing is a weekly video podcast from the Location Based Marketing Association with Asif Khan and Aubriana Lopez. On the show: FlyBuy app, Nomadic VR, IKEA teams with Apple. And Special Guest: Rob Woodbridge.
Street Fight Daily: Instagram Steals Snap’s Business, Google Wades Further into Local
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Publishers Are Switching Affections from Snapchat to Instagram… Google Expands Reserve with Google, Adding Salon and Spa Bookings… Moz Founder Rand Fishkin to Step Away from Day-to-Day Operations, Will Remain Chairman…
Accidental Ad-Blocking: The Brand-Safety Snag that Advertisers Can Fix
When it comes to ads that brands want to publish on the web as well as in-app, there’s a brand-safety technology snag that many advertisers don’t know about — and it’s costing them in-app impressions. Think of it as accidental ad-blocking.
Ex-Patcher Uses ‘Local Language’ to Succeed in Crowded Suburban Market
Mike Dinan founded NewCanaanite.com in suburban Connecticut in 2014 after his job as regional editor at Patch disappeared. In this interview, Dinan tells how, despite a crowded local media market, he’s made New Canaanite succeed as a community force and independent business.
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Meta Is Automating Ads, But Brands Still Face a Bigger Problem