News and Analysis

How Panera Uses AR to Heighten Cravings, Reaching Millions of Customers

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Following up on the success of its #YouMix2 AR campaign, which debuted at SXSW last year, Panera recently launched a follow-up initiative. Working with M7 Innovations, a technology-focused consultancy that specializes in artificial intelligence and immersive realities, Panera designed an AR campaign that involved animated breakfast wraps. Consumers were encouraged to experience Panera’s breakfast wraps through AR technology and share the assets to Facebook and Snapchat.

The Pivot Stuck: Video Ads Dominate App Revenue

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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

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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.

Commentary

AR and VR — Will Local Advertisers Bite?

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Local advertising is a $150 billion market, and is particularly conducive to AR, given the technology’s ability to qualify purchase decisions in the commerce-heavy offline world. There will be a land grab for this digital real estate as mobile AR gains consumer traction. There will be also questions about who “owns” that virtual space.

How Brands Determine Their Local Marketing Effectiveness

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Website analytics are the most popular means of evaluating local marketing for multi-location brands. While that’s a logical tactic for analyzing digital marketing and advertising effectiveness, it hardly presents the full picture of multichannel marketing or online-to-offline attribution.

So Long Local Search — Hello Machine-Directed Discovery

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Whatever you thought you knew about getting your business found online and on mobile, or whatever you are currently learning, is already obsolete. The way consumers interact with search technology today is on its way out. Why? Autonomous cars, artificial intelligence and voice commands are all transforming search into something we can only begin to imagine.

Latest Posts

Should Publishers Panic Over Facebook’s 98 Ad-Targeting Data Points?

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Businesses are rushing to Facebook with their advertising – that’s reality. But another reality is that an international survey of users found that local news was their favorite among eight categories of news.

For Local Companies Focused on Specific Verticals, a Sharp Focus Can Be Key for Growth

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Bloated technology platforms designed to serve the entire SMB market have slowly been replaced with more targeted vertical plays, but industry veterans still caution that every vertical requires a unique approach.

Street Fight Daily: How Instacart Is Changing Grocery, Beacon Use on the Rise

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Instacart’s App Has Changed Grocery Stores for Good… Proximity Tech, Beacon Usage on the Rise Among Marketers… Should Citations Define the Success of SMBs’ Local SEO Strategies?…

Ibotta Announces In-App Purchasing Capability, Partnerships with Button, Jet, DoorDash

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Ibotta announced new partnerships and technological capabilities on Wednesday, powered by a partnership with deep-linking software-producer Button, that its co-founder and CEO, Bryan Leach, hopes will make it the “front door” for in-app mobile commerce. Up until now, Ibotta, based in Denver and launched in 2012, has offered its users cash back on offline purchases […]

Maps.me Offers Open Source Alternative to Google and Apple Maps

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I’m impressed by the level of detail and by some key differentiators that make Maps.me seem like a fresh approach to mobile navigation. Indeed, I can see the app eventually finding favor in the U.S. marketplace. Even before that happens, local marketers should take note.

Street Fight Daily: Waze Ride-Share to Hit SF Soon, Facebook Creates Coupon Drawer

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Google Takes on Uber With New Ride-Share Service… Facebook Has Created the Digital Equivalent of a Coupon Drawer for Users… Jeff Jones Drives Uber as New President…

Reserve and Deliver: Waitr Acquires Restaurant Booking App Requested

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Restaurant booking app Requested has announced that it has been acquired by Louisiana-based food delivery and restaurant management company Waitr. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Requested will keep its California office and its team will remain intact in the transfer.

Placing a Bet on Apps for Local Businesses, Advice Local Acquires Scanther Mobile

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Advice Interactive Group will acquire the app tech company founded in 2012 by brothers EJ and Austin Archuleta. Scanther’s team will join Advice as part of the deal, and the company will be rebranded as Advice Mobile and integrated within the Advice Local product suite.

Geoscape’s New Digital Platform, AudienTivity, Helps Brands Connect With Multicultural Shoppers

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The Miami-based company is dedicated to providing data and analytics systems centered around the U.S Hispanic population along with other “new mainstream consumers,” says CEO Cesar Melgoza. This includes consumers from various culture backgrounds, as well as age-based shoppers like millennials, and also the LGBTQ community.

Street Fight Daily: Lyft Reportedly Rejected $6B Offer, Uber-Google Rivalry Heats Up

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Lyft’s $9 Billion Price Tag Was Too High for GM… Uber and Alphabet Rivalry Heats Up Over Self-Driving Vehicles, Mapping Tech, Ride Hailing… Square Forges Relationships with Competitors to Expand its Business Opportunities…