News and Analysis

Street Fight’s May Theme: Local Commerce’s Recovery Playbook

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In our own reporting and analysis (and through the words of our contributors) this month, we’ll define the playbook for local re-entry. As business ramps back up, what will best practices be for local staples such as search marketing and reputation management?

We’ve already covered how businesses are digitizing to adapt to the challenges of commerce in a time of social distancing, embracing curbside pickup, social advertising, pop-up distribution centers, online classes, and retail tech. With an even longer-term view, we’ll examine how this period of uncertainty will shape the future of local commerce.

AARP Launches Platform Empowering Neighbors to Assist Each Other during Pandemic

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Built by the team at AARP Innovation Labs over the course of just a few weeks, the Community Connections mutual aid aggregation platform gives volunteers and people in need a place to connect. It features a searchable directory of local mutual aid organizations, which are typically informal groups that provide key daily services, such as picking up groceries and delivering medications to people who are at high risk for contracting Covid-19. People can access the platform to find volunteer groups nearby, with links to those groups’ websites and locator maps.

With Stimulus Funds Delayed, Small Businesses Digitize for Survival

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Experts at helping SMBs adapt to a tech-first commercial landscape say the pandemic has led some businesses to tap into their long-dormant potential as digital marketers and sellers, possibly setting them up for gains in the aftermath of the recession. Now that e-commerce is the only path to survival, mom-and-pop shops, aided by martech firms, agencies, and Silicon Valley giants, are capitalizing on cutting-edge marketing and retail techniques, many for the first time.

Thousands, if not millions, of Main Street businesses will close their doors for good as a result of the pandemic. Those that survive will be technologically savvier and sleeker than they were before.

Commentary

Google As Website? The Recent Explosion in Knowledge Panel Features and Interactivity

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“Presentation layer doesn’t sufficiently describe Google’s ambitions. They want to be the transaction layer of the Internet—at least in local,” David Mihm tells Mike Blumenthal in their latest biweekly column.

State of Hyperlocal: Report Shows Buyer and Seller Alignment, Attribution Focus

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Both SMBs and multi-location brands listed social media as the top marketing strategy on which they were increasing spending. The majority of both groups said they were maintaining or increasing spending on all of the six digital marketing types we asked about.

LBMA Podcast: Life360 buys PathSense, Facebook’s AR camera

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On the show: MyPark app, Josera campaing, Phoenix Contract + Favendo, eBay’s new AR tool, Shazam teams up with Glenlivet.

Latest Posts

5 Platforms For Making Tailored Recommendations Across Digital Channels

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Getting the right product in front of the right consumer at the right time is the holy grail for both online and offline retailers, and it’s being made easier by new tailored recommendation platforms that use natural language interactions to assist shoppers across multiple digital channels.

How Arrivalist Is Using Location Data to Measure Exposure to Travel Ads

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In the past, destination marketers relied on active input from visitors who shared comments on what made them book a trip to a particular place. The ability to anonymously track devices, however, has opened the door to new ways to get real data on travel.

Street Fight Daily: where Location-Based Marketing Is Headed, Uber Ends Self-Driving Ops in SF

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… How Location-Based Marketing Will Evolve in 2017… Uber Ends Self-Driving Car Test in San Francisco… Brands and Publishers Use Facebook Messenger to Boost PR and Sales…

Under Pressure, Local TV Advertising Still Shows Lots of Opportunity

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Local TV ad spending is set to take a big hit next year, projected to decrease at a double-digit pace after an election and Olympics year. Nonetheless, local TV represents a solid opportunity for smart media and marketing tech companies, as TV remains U.S. consumers’ primary time-sink.

The SDK Equation: Four Questions for Restarting the Conversation on Publisher Integration

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How can mobile marketing restart the conversation around SDK integration with publishers, industrywide? Let’s start with distinctions and empowerment — key ways that the industry can arm publishers with the knowledge they need to evaluate a good SDK while detecting the badly built versions.

Street Fight Daily: Amazon’s Ad Tech Strategy, 7-Eleven Beats Tech Giants on Drone Delivery

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… A Briefing with Amazon, Ad Tech’s Dark Horse… 7-Eleven Beats Google and Amazon to First Regular Commercial Drone Delivery Service… Mobile is the Key to Extraordinary Brand Experiences…

Hearst Papers Tested to Perfect the Vital ‘User Experience’

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Revenue SVP Esfand Pourmand wants the group’s 17 dailies and 57 weeklies to maximize their revenue potential. To do that he knows they also have to enrich “user experiences” across multiple platforms.

The Buzz on Wikileaf: Compare Pot Prices Then Map a Route to Your Next High

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A GasBuddy for pot? Why not? That seems to be the conclusion of one Seattle-based entrepreneur, whose location-based pricing-and-reviews service wants a slice of what he estimates will be an $8 billion industry in 2017.

4 Ways to Dust Off Your Website and Use It to Engage with Customers

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Creating fresh content and having the time and staff to devote to keeping the website updated are other challenges business owners frequently point out as barriers to building and maintaining a website. But it shouldn’t be this way. Websites are still a foundational marketing element for businesses of all sizes—especially small- and medium-size businesses (SMBs) like restaurants, retails, gyms, banks and other service providers.

Street Fight: Uber’s Q3 Losses ‘Eye-Popping’, Snap Makes Moves on Ad Tech

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Uber’s Loss Exceeds $800M in Third Quarter on $1.7B Net Revenue… With Acquihire of Flite, Snapchat Looks to Boost Ad Tech Capabilities… Small Business Owners Pessimistic About Holidays but Hopeful for 2017…