News and Analysis
Why SMBs Are Flocking to Martech to Combat Covid Slump
The old way of doing business isn’t working anymore. As restaurants, retailers, and other businesses work to keep customers updated about shifting hours of operation and in-store social distancing requirements, they are opening up to outside-the-box ideas and becoming more comfortable trying location-targeted marketing platforms.
Data show that digital adoption among businesses and consumers jumped forward at least five years in the first eight weeks of the pandemic. Small restaurants and retailers are eagerly adopting the same tools now that they were hesitant to try back in 2019. That push is leading technology providers to expand their offerings and develop new tools for a growing market.
Mediaocean Acquires 4C Insights. What’s Next for Ad Tech?
The coronavirus pandemic and ensuing recession have forced tech vendors to step up their games and make a stronger case to advertisers as to why their products and services are essential amid tightening budgets. The year of Covid-19 is also fostering a favorable environment for mergers and acquisitions, as solo players team up to emerge stronger on the other side of a stormy season.
Last week, ad tech got a fresh acquisition, as Mediaocean acquired 4C Insights. I checked in with Aaron Goldman, CMO of 4C Insights, to find out what the acquisition portends for the two companies and how it matches up with broader trends in ad tech.
Retail Prepares for a Covid-Inflected Holiday Season
The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the shift from brick-and-mortar commerce to digital transactions. It has also forced brick-and-mortars resisting the hybridization of their own businesses to adopt digital methods, turning restaurants and apparel stores alike into both brick-and-mortar establishments and online sellers.
Against that backdrop, retail’s biggest quarter will present novel challenges this year. Retailers will need to optimize for online transactions and contend with fragmented national and global landscapes where it may be safe to go to stores in New York but not in Los Angeles.
Commentary
Will the ‘Sustained Outrage’ of One W. Virginia Newspaper Survive Auction Block’s Hammer?
The biggest heartbreaker is what happens to those families whose long-held newspapers were dedicated to publishing all the news without fear or favor. This is the story of one of those families, the Chiltons, and their paper, the Charleston (W.Va.) Gazette-Mail, which the Chiltons owned for 111 years.
Image Recognition and Smartphone Ubiquity Create Opportunities for CPGs in Emerging Markets
The combination of advancements in image recognition technology and a growing global network of smartphone owners is shaping up to be a powerful duo for data intelligence abroad for CPG brands.
Back to Basics: Why Every Business Should Invest in SEO
Contributor Kelsey Taylor goes back to the basics, laying out a case regarding the fundamental usefulness of SEO that might be presented to local business owners or industry newcomers.
Latest Posts
Openings and New Hires at Shopkick, OpenTable, WebsPlanet
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 Verve, LMA, Propel Marketing, Search Influence and Navads.
Raise Report: New Funding for Stripe, Gett, OpenDoor
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 Apptopia, Wynd, Civis Analytics, and Dashbot.
LBMA Podcast: SnapChat/Foursquare, SocialRadar Acquisition, Hero Digital
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: Nadaam Cashmere + Cleanly, Hurd, Exponential Interactive, Bizly, PAI + MagTek, Skyhook & Verifone, Age UK with ClearChannel, and GeniCan.
Street Fight Daily: Apple Taps Drones to Improve Maps Data, Brands Leverage Apps for Loyalty
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Apple Said to Fly Drones to Improve Maps Data and Catch Google… How Brands Are Leveraging Their Apps to Provide Value, Maintain Loyalty… Instagram to Overtake Twitter as Marketing Channel…
Broadstreet CEO: ‘Value’ in Local Publishing Is More Than Scale
Kenny Katzgrau talks with us about what he calls the “growing divide” between publishers, like local newspaper groups, who pitch advertisers with the scale of big numbers of pageviews, and independents, who emphasize value.
5 Tools For Evaluating Which Hyperlocal Ads Work Best
There are a number of tools already available for marketers looking to decide which hyperlocal ads are working best, many of which go beyond basic click-through rates and engagement rates to generate a complete picture of advertising successes and misses.
Infographic: The Fight for Leads
In the battle to find and convert customers, a range of tools are at the disposal of marketers. This infographic highlights eight winning tactics being used by marketers in health care, automotive, marketing agencies and law firms. It is the final post in the “Fight for Leads” series sponsored by CallRail.
Street Fight Daily: Business Discovery in the Voice Search Age, Mobile ROI Eludes Marketers
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… SEO’s Path Forward in the Age of Google Assistant, Home, and Amazon Echo… 67% of Marketers Can’t Measure Mobile ROI… Among Marketers, IoT Is Seen as Critical Emerging Technology…
State of Hyperlocal Report: What’s Hot in Local Marketing and Commerce
social media, data and analytics, and mobile—especially geotargeting—are the hot technology investments for marketing and commerce. The investment in data and analytics is in part driven by the biggest overall industry challenge, online-to-offline attribution measurement, and one of the most difficult issues facing individual companies, proving ROI to customers.
With New Partnership, Commerce Signals and PlaceIQ Marry Location With Transaction Data
Commerce Signals this week rolled out its new centerpiece product, called databridge. The platform lets marketers see unfiltered transaction data directly from financial institutions when purchases are made. This transaction information is being combined with location data in a new partnership with PlaceIQ.
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Meta Is Automating Ads, But Brands Still Face a Bigger Problem