News and Analysis
How Marketers Should Prepare for an Abnormal Holiday Season
Marketers overuse the word “unique,” but the adjective actually applies to this year’s holiday season. Consumer-facing brands and retailers have not faced such an adverse economic environment for more than a decade, and they have never grappled with a Q4 in which driving customers to their stores came with daily, life-or-death stakes.
I spoke to Michele Marzan, chief strategy officer at MainAd, about these holidays’ unprecedented challenges and unexpected opportunities.
GroundTruth Uses Location Data to Reach ‘Pick-Up Loyalists’
GroundTruth has mapped more than 2,900 Walmart Online Grocery Pick-Up zones within Walmart parking lots, which means brands using GroundTruth’s technology can now build accurate custom audience segments comprised of these specific shoppers.
Expanding on that concept, brands should be able to send different mobile marketing pitches to consumers who are picking up groceries via Walmart+’s curbside program and consumers who are getting out of their cars and shopping in-store. GroundTruth’s technology turns location data on Walmart+ shoppers into useful consumer insights for brands.
Power of Influencers May Be Growing amid Pandemic
As many as 21% of consumers have made their first-ever influencer-driven purchase since the Covid-19 outbreak struck the US, according to new research by martech firm Valassis.
The firm speculates that this apparent increase in the power of influencers may be related to a boost in social media usage among consumers stuck at home.
Commentary
What Happens When Knowledge Panels Aren’t Actually Knowledgeable?
In the latest of their biweekly columns, David Mihm and Mike Blumenthal explore what they find to be a troubling practice on Google’s part: granting select platforms the power to insert themselves into a local business’ knowledge panel without any recourse for the business or verifying that the information is accurate.
Selling to Multi-Location Brands: Building on Omnipresent Email
In the face of sexier technologies like messaging and social media, email still has tremendous staying power. So helping brands incorporate it alongside digital and traditional marketing tactics won’t be a wasted effort for agencies and marketing tech providers.
LBMA Podcast: Google Pay, Rival & Ticketmaster, Sears & Amazon
On this week’s edition of the Location-Based Marketing Association podcast: Urban Airship + Google Pay, Aceby app, JetBlue’s pizza to LA, Rival takes on Ticketmaster, 7-Elven goes AR for Deadpool 2, Google Duplex, Sears and Amazon team-up.
Latest Posts
6 Platforms Merchants Can Use to Capture After-Hours Leads
More and more consumers expect the small businesses in their own communities to be open when they’re ready to book appointments or ask questions, regardless of the time of day. Here are six examples of platforms local merchants can use to increase conversion rates outside of traditional business hours.
Should Local News Open Its Heart to Emojis?
Six billion emojis are shared every day, but few of them appear on local news sites. Dana Loberg, founder and CEO of MojiLaLa, thinks emojis could help local news sites not only make better connections with their present users but also attract new and younger audiences.
Street Fight Daily: Walmart Ups Delivery Game, Small Businesses Rely on Antiquated Tech
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Walmart Launches Free 2-Day Shipping on Purchases of $35 or More… Survey: Small Businesses Have a Long Way to Go on Digital Strategies… Marketers’ Data Priorities Shift from ‘Collection’ to ‘Value’…
Apple Gets Into Position for the Voice Search Revolution
As voice search becomes more prevalent, Apple will “retain an advantage over Amazon in ‘on-the-go’ searches, since our phones are always with us,” David Mihm tells Mike Blumenthal. “Unfortunately for Apple, people overwhelmingly conduct voice searches at home. “
Three Ways Location Marketing Is Changing in 2017
People are searching differently. They’re using emoji, voice commands, and social media to find what they want on demand through a variety of channels and devices. As a result, businesses need to be more nimble and imaginative in the way they convert online searches into offline sales.
Street Fight Daily: Signpost Brings AI-Driven Ads to Facebook, Snap to File Publicly for IPO This Week
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Signpost Integrates AI Tech with Facebook for More Effective Advertising… Snap Plans to File Publicly for Its Much-Awaited IPO This Week… How Automakers Are Cashing in on Connected Cars…
TAPinto’s 60 Franchises Launch Mobile App to Reach Young Users More Directly
Hyperlocal news network TAPinto has launched a mobile app to give users a platform that’s free of Facebook’s filters and is the preferred choice of younger readers. While many local newspapers and TV broadcasters offer apps, few independent news “pure-plays” like TAPinto have done so.
Raise Report: Button, Flirtey, AppsFlyer Score New Rounds
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 Vestiaire Collective, Dalia, Zeotap, and Shiftgig.
Street Fight Daily: MarTech Space Headed for Consolidation, Snap’s Advertising Potential
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Marketing Technology Likely to See Widespread Consolidation in 2017… Snapchat’s Ad Platform is Growing Quickly, But Will It Ever Reach Facebook’s Heights?… Google Parent Alphabet Finds New Growth Beyond Search…
Placed and Captivate Partner to Measure the Reach of Digital Elevator Ads
Digital media company Captivate announced today that it is teaming up with location analytics firm Placed to measure when consumers visit in-store locations after seeing digital ads in elevators. Consumers exposed to Captivate’s digital screens are cross-referenced with Placed’s app users to offer a new location visit measurement KPI.
Street Fight’s Big 3
Street Fight Columns
Street Fight Categories
Meta Is Automating Ads, But Brands Still Face a Bigger Problem