News and Analysis
Retailers Hoping for Record Cyber Monday to Follow Friday Windfall
US retailers set all-time records on Thanksgiving and Black Friday, wracking up $11.6 billion in online sales. Adobe predicts that Cyber Monday will also set a fresh record of $9.4 billion, pushing the Thanksgiving weekend total to nearly $30 billion.
The increasing importance of online sales has forced traditional retailers to compete with e-commerce natives like Amazon not only by offering their own robust set of deals but also by investing in delivery infrastructure and reducing friction for consumers ordering online.
The Beauty Industry is Prepping for Small Business Saturday – Here’s How
Small Business Saturday is one of the most important events of the year for local beauty and wellness providers. Spas and salons rely on sales of gift cards and beauty products to sustain their businesses during leaner times.
Developed by American Express in the depths of the recession in 2010, Small Business Saturday is placed in the middle of two of the biggest shopping events of the year, Black Friday and Cyber Monday. While proportionally fewer sales happen on Small Business Saturday than Black Friday or Cyber Monday, consumer awareness around the annual event is growing.
The Risks and Outsize Rewards of Political Branding
In a time of unprecedented political partisanship, the risks and rewards of corporate political messaging are amplified. Viral marketing strategies including Nike’s partnership with racial justice activist and football star Colin Kaepernick, Gillette’s toxic masculinity ad, and Chick-fil-A’s anti-LGBTQ stances rally political sympathizers to a brand’s side and alienate ideological foes.
Street Fight checked in with Jen Capstraw, director of strategic insights and evangelism at growth marketing company Iterable, to get a sense of how significant the benefits and drawbacks of political branding are, which ideological direction political ads are predominantly taking, and how strong the evidence is for the efficacy of partisan messaging.
Commentary
Cultural Shifts Underlines Google’s Local Enterprise Play
“Google at one time talked about a suite of GMB products called the Business Builder but it got left on the cutting room floor of the forced march to Google Plus and the subsequent ugly separation,” Mike Blumenthal tells David Mihm. “It’s refreshing to see a similar strategy finally coming to fruition. I think we are seeing them being slowly tied together.”
New Street Fight Report: Benchmarking and Best Practices in Enterprise Local Marketing
The report Enterprise Local Marketers 2017: Benchmarking and Best Practices examines current trends in their local marketing tactics, channels, and operations. By analyzing the survey data and correlating digital marketing effectiveness with spending, tactics, and management, Street Fight has identified key enterprise local marketing best practices.
Latest Posts
John Oliver Delivers a Valentine (And a Warning) to Newspapers — But Will They Listen?
John Oliver’s tribute to newspapers on HBO’s “Last Week Tonight” highlighted the challenges for the country’s dailies, as well as the dangers of making online news all about clickbait. To combat this dismal future, publishers should focus on making their sites as engaging as possible, which could ultimately help sell digital subscriptions.
Street Fight Daily: Ford’s Ride-Hail Ambitions, Yik Yak Shifts Focus to Local Connections
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Ford Plans to Have a Full Fleet of Autonomous Cars Operating in a Ride-Hail Service by 2021… Yik Yak Yearns to Be Local, Not Just Anonymous… Retailers Should Perfect In-Store Pickup or Not Offer It At All…
Local Loyalty: Klosebuy Plans to Bring Powerful Marketing to Main Street
New loyalty entrants are looking to make life simpler for the thrifty with suites of services that stretch from the marketer all the way to a consumer’s wallet. And some of those, like Klosebuy, are focusing local — targeting the SMB by giving them the power over loyalty programs once reserved for the big guys.
Sponsored Report: Optimizing Local Presence for Mobile Search
This free report looks puts a focus on key areas that will give marketers an edge: mobile-optimized websites; mobile-optimized SEO; and an attention to basic name/address/phone number information, particularly as it pertains to those “near me” searches. The report also features actionable takeaways with a “7 Strategies for Local Search Success” tip sheet…
Street Fight Daily: Snapchat Will Acquire Vurb, Local Sites Fill Traditional News Void
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Snapchat is Acquiring Mobile Search App Vurb for Over $110 Million… As Legacy News Organizations Cut Back, Local Sites Are Cropping Up to Fill the Void… Omnichannel May Never Catch On, But It’s the Next Big Thing for Local…
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The Road Ahead: What Autonomous Cars Teach Us About Marketing Automation