News and Analysis
Foursquare’s New Audio Assistant is a Peek into the Future of Local Tech
Dubbed Marsbot for Airpods, Foursquare’s virtual assistant will whisper insights to users about their surroundings, unprompted, as they move throughout the world. This may be a recommendation for a local coffee shop or a fun fact about a landmark.
For brick-and-mortar businesses and the technology providers that help them connect with customers, the marketing possibilities are tantalizing.
Connecting the Dots on Google’s Visual Road Map
Google continues to double down on visual search and navigation. Its latest move came last week with updates to its Live View visual navigation to help users identify and qualify local businesses. This follows soon after its Earth Cloud Anchors that will let users create digital content on physical places.
Both developments tell us something about what may well be the future of local search: augmented reality-enhanced visuals.
How Brands Can Rise, Retain, and Return Stronger Than Ever this Holiday Season
Prior to Covid-19, traditional demographics still directed many brands’ targeting strategies. However, the pandemic has laid bare just how flawed this method can be. We believe that the best measure of what someone will purchase in the future is looking at what they’ve purchased in the past. This holds true even in an uncertain market and is invaluable for retailers as the holidays approach.
Commentary
As Polls Eagle-Eye News Media, Their Own Work Merits a Close Look
On accuracy, news organizations across the board have to address more forthrightly the public’s concerns about the truthfulness of what is presented. Those concerns do not appear to be as great as expressed in the Gallup/Knight numbers, which exaggerate a widespread talking point about growing distrust in the news media.
How AR Will Fundamentally Change Search, Participating in an ‘Internet of Places’
Online-to-offline (O2O) commerce is one area where AR will find a home. Just think: Is there any better technology to unlock O2O commerce than one that literally melds physical and digital worlds? AR can shorten gaps in time and space that currently separate those interactions (e.g. search) from offline outcomes.
Latest Posts
Affinity Solutions Launches Tool to Predict Future Purchase Outcomes
Tech firms are working at a feverish pace to crack the code when it comes to predictive marketing, as brands demand more detailed insights into consumers’ future purchasing behaviors. The latest effort into this arena comes from Affinity Solutions, which is launching its Purchase-Driven Marketing Cloud today.
Blis Forecasts Where Consumers Will Be — Then Targets Ads Based on That Prediction
The company is unveiling a new service that it claims can figure out where consumers will likely go — and target mobile ads based on those expectations. Blis Futures uses artificial intelligence to identify patterns about where consumers are likely to spend time, and then focuses brands’ marketing to reach them at optimal moments.
Research Roundup: Comparing Franchisees and Independent Professionals
Comparing some surveys focused at opposite ends of the local small business spectrum — franchise operators and self-employed professionals — it feels like, though the industry is selling these groups the same marketing and commerce technology and services, the two segments are more different than similar.
Street Fight Daily: Amazon’s Brick-and-Mortar Ambitions, Uber Suspends Self-Driving Cars After Crash
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Google’s YouTube Has Continued Showing Objectionable Ads Despite Advertiser Pushback… Uber Takes Self-Driving Cars Off the Road After One Flips Over in Arizona… Amazon’s Ambitions Unboxed: Brick-and-Mortar Stores for Appliances, Furniture, and More…
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