News and Analysis
The Pivot Stuck: Video Ads Dominate App Revenue
Digital marketing journalists touted the pivot to video so incessantly that mention of it after a certain point sparked obligatory mea culpas. Redundant as the proclamations may have proved, fresh data from mobile ad firm AdColony suggests those who heralded video as the future of digital advertising have been vindicated.
Using Smartwatches to Join Marketing’s Vanguard
Spending on wearables is predicted to hit $52 billion this year, according to forecasts from the research firm Gartner, and spending on smartwatches specifically is expected to increase by 24%. Smartwatches represent the merging of physical and virtual worlds, and they provide marketers with a direct line for reaching consumers.
Here are five examples of how tech-savvy brands can put smartwatches to work and develop better strategies to take full advantage of the new opportunities that exist for reaching consumers through these wearable devices.
QR Code Generators for Cannabis Businesses
If the California Bureau of Cannabis Control’s proposed regulations are passed, state-licensed cannabis businesses will be required to display unique QR code certificates in their store windows. They would need to have their QR codes handy when transporting cannabis as well. In the long term, lawmakers are hoping the regulation will help consumers avoid purchasing cannabis from unlicensed vendors. In the short term, though, the proposed regulation is forcing dispensaries and other cannabis businesses to search for ways to create compliant QR codes for their stores.
Commentary
Lots of Facebook News — But Little Progress in Local
Instead of integrating multi-media news consumption with entertainment, community conversations, events calendars, advertising, and a buyers and sellers marketplace, Facebook is isolating them as components. While this is consistent with its separate apps approach, it likely won’t result in as much audience cross-fertilization as it should. Nor does it feel at all local advertiser-friendly.
Should Local Businesses Ask for Reviews?
Reputation management services should focus on helping businesses understand what consumers are saying and engage with reviewers by responding. Unbiased review content is a true goldmine for the brand who works with a reputation company to glean deep insights about consumer sentiment offered by consumers themselves for free.
Latest Posts
How Car Marketers Get Customers
Consumers are becoming savvier in the ways they research and purchase new cars, favoring online research over conversations with real world salespeople. So car marketer are using SEO, pay-per-click, third-party directories, and call tracking software to bring in leads. (Sponsored by CallRail)
Street Fight Daily: Bloomingdale’s Capitalizes on Snapchat Geofilters, Amazon Video Threatens Retailers
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Snapchat Geofilters Help Bloomingdale’s Connect with Next Generation of Shoppers… Amazon’s Video Steaming Service is a Threat to Retailers, Not Netflix… Google Looking at How to Measure Brand Awareness for Search…
Vistaprint Launches Platform to Connect Online and Offline Marketing
Vistaprint is expanding beyond its roots as a provider of custom printed products today, with a new suite of digital marketing tools for “micro” business owners. The company’s redesigned website building platform will include tools for social media marketing, local listings, email marketing, and business email, along with design services.
Can Google Shift Its Revenue Model From Advertising to Products?
“Google rolling out integrated hardware and software is a big change,” Mike Blumenthal says to David Mihm. “They have tried their hand at manufacturing many times and failed, but this feels more strategic. Clearly their AI assistant effort is central and it seems that AI is table stakes for the coming battles.”
DAC Group’s Fritz: ‘Consolidation Has Already Started’ in Local Tech
“The biggest opportunity [will materialize] as we start to see technology platforms look at areas outside of their sweet spot,” says the company’s VP of business development. “We’ve heard rumblings around technology companies looking to purchase more agency solutions, as well as vice versa: agencies looking to acquire for tech.”
Street Fight Daily: Consumers Slow to Embrace E-Grocery, Location-Based Marketing Drives Foot Traffic
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… One Local Market — Packaged Food and Household Goods — Resistant to E-Commerce… Location-Based Marketing Boosts Store Visits… Gordon Borrell on Why Facebook is Killing It in Local Advertising…
LBMA Podcast: Waze’s Brands, EatStreet/PingUp, and McDonald’s.
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: Skedaddle, Netclearance, Marriott’s #Mgravityroom, Under Armour, Sears + Uber, Google Trips, Sito Mobile + Blue Bite, and Verizon buys Sensity.
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The Road Ahead: What Autonomous Cars Teach Us About Marketing Automation