News and Analysis

Interactive Maps Help Bring Back Shoppers After Covid Hiatus

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As the pandemic has worn on, marketers have begun to ask what’s next. How do you keep open and click-through rates high, even as consumers shift back from e-commerce to in-person shopping? The answer, for many, involves maps.

Just look at Torrid, the women’s retail chain formerly owned by Hot Topic, with more than 600 stores across the U.S., Puerto Rico, and Canada.

Plain Sight Pivots to Help Local Businesses Drive Foot Traffic

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Founded by James Chapman and backed by Quicken Loans founder Dan Gilbert, Plain Sight originally started as a way for people to explore professional connections based on location.

With local businesses closing by the thousands, Chapman says he’s envisioning the Plain Sight app as a tool for businesses to promote themselves and increase foot traffic. Businesses can use the platform to develop stronger customer loyalty by engaging with consumers directly. In addition to sharing information about how they are keeping customers safe, restaurants and other businesses can also accept free and paid reservations through the platform.

How Political Campaigns Leverage Location Data in an Era of Virtual Events

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Political ad spending is expected to reach record highs this cycle, topping $6.89 billion in the 2019/2020 election period. This cycle’s spending is 63% higher than spending in the 2015/2016 season. Tapping into location data to make that advertising more relevant has taken a bit more creativity than usual.

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LBMA Podcast: Walmart, Target, LinkedIN

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Featured on this week’s edition of the Location-Based Marketing Association podcast: LEGO + Grand Visual, LinkedIN, Vyking shoes, Walmart, Target, HERE + Decawave, LBMA D/A/CH.

Why Google Decided Phone Calls Are the Key to Google Assistant’s Future Success

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Among all the new AI-driven capabilities Google could’ve bestowed on its powerful Assistant, the company decided to focus on one capability in particular: a phone call.

Listen Up! Voice Makes Itself Heard in Delivery of Local News

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“Voice is still in its early innings, but Edison Research data on smart speakers shows that the top things people are calling for is news. That’s enough for me to know that the time to get moving on this is right now,” says Amplifi Media CEO Steve Goldstein.

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Case Study: How a Maryland Spa Owner Tackles Online Marketing

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Laura Correa has made a name for herself in the Washington, DC area with restorative facials and rejuvenating therapeutic treatments, but in order to keep her skin spa afloat and compete against larger chains, Correa stays on top of the latest digital marketing trends

How Publishers Can Improve Their Revenue — Ezoic’s Experts Spell It Out

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Local news publishers are often able to pull together a decent share of pageviews in their communities — but many can’t wring enough revenue out of them. For practical solutions, I went to two experts at Ezoic, whose artificial-intelligence platform aims at helping its thousands of publisher clients to deliver better user experiences.

Street Fight Daily: IBM and Salesforce Share AI Tech, Consumers Still Tepid About Connected Home

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… IBM and Salesforce Will Start Sharing Their AI Technology… Most Consumers Not Turned On By Connected Home, Study Finds… Mobile World Congress 2017: Main Enterprise Themes…

Why Google Is Becoming the ‘New Homepage’ for SMBs

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“So many things are happening right on Google; clicks to call, driving directions, etc., and even more so than a website,” Mike Blumenthal tells David Mihm. “For a business to do well there, things like photos, reviews (everywhere) and other visuals are becoming ever more important.”

Will Native-Social Ads Dominate Mobile?

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The majority of mobile ad companies that don’t evolve their janky and interruptive banners will be displaced. A new era of mobile ads will be defined by intelligent formats that speak to the affinities of buying-empowered millennials (who are now almost 40 by the way).

Street Fight Daily: Uber Wants to Be a ‘Content Marketplace,’ The AP Supplies Hyperlocal Data

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Uber Plans to Turn Its App Into a ‘Content Marketplace’ During Rides… The AP’s Plan to Put Hyperlocal Data in the Hands of Reporters… Yelp Blames Google for Its Failed International Business…

Openings and New Hires at Okanjo, Factual, Bing Maps

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Every two weeks, Geoff Michener covers some of the latest job changes taking place in this dynamic industry. This week’s edition includes moves and new openings at Pandora, LotLinx, and Kobe Digital.

Street Culture: Tech Startups Amping Up Opportunities for Women

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For many locally focused tech companies — including NextDoor, SweetIQ, ibotta and G/O Digital — transparent sharing and openness at all levels is inviting a new workplace generation led by women.

Street Fight Daily: Snap Valuation Jumps to $34 Billion, SMBs Shift Marketing Spend to Digital

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Snapchat Shares Surge 44% in Market Debut… Small Businesses Shift Marketing Spend to Digital… For Quartz, Bots Are a Chance to Build a New Path for Interacting with News…

5 Ways Brick-and-Mortar Merchants Can Utilize On-Demand Services

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Businesses that sell physical goods are discovering that they can cut costs and increase services for their customers by forming partnerships with on-demand apps rather than competing on their own. Here are five examples of ways that brick-and-mortar businesses can start utilizing on-demand services.