News and Analysis
Brandify Launches Covid-19 Updates Page
We are not the only ones helping businesses with online communication at this critical time, and businesses themselves need to know the latest so they can craft flexible and responsive strategies. With that in mind, we’ve decided to publish our tracking sheet on changes to local business marketing channels as a new webpage called “COVID-19 Local Search Updates,” live on our website today. We will keep it up to date, and we hope you’ll find it useful.
E-Commerce Booms While Hospitality, Restaurants Suffer Amid Covid-19 Concerns
Early trends in consumer coronavirus behavior indicate that the already fast-growing e-commerce sector may see an added boost over the next few months as people avoid in-door shopping to practice social distancing during the Covid-19 outbreak.
Media and marketing services firm ENGINE is conducting 1,000-person online surveys of representative samples of US consumers every few days to gauge changes in consumer sentiment and behavior as the quickly accelerating outbreak develops. The firm found that while 31% of consumers said they were increasing their online shopping in surveys conducted March 13-15 and 16-17, 42% said the same March 20-22, a 35% increase.
Brands Struggle to Keep Up When Promotions Explode in Popularity
When the Popeyes Chicken Sandwich was released last summer, the effect on sales was almost immediate. Customers filled Popeyes locations and waited in long lines to get a taste of the buzzy new sandwich. A Twitter feud between Popeyes and Chick-fil-A caused those lines to grow even longer, and the viral frenzy ended up draining the supply of “little chickens” to the point where a nationwide shortage ensued.
For GSD&M, the agency that handles Popeyes’ social media, the rollout was initially seen as a huge success. From a logistical perspective, though, it quickly turned into a nightmare as Popeyes struggled to keep up with demand.
Commentary
Why Carrier Data Is the Key to Unlocking Mobile Verification
Brands like P&G are placing new demands on agencies and media providers for increased transparency and accountability, which in turn has led to significant advances in areas like viewability. The next battleground is clearly verifying the data accuracy of the underlying ingredients – namely the quality of data used for targeting and measurement.
Where Local Agencies Help Brands Most
About a quarter of multi-location brands use local media agencies to help manage and evaluate their local digital advertising and marketing programs, according to Street Fight’s latest survey. There’s a modest correlation between using agencies and marketing effectiveness, and the agencies seem to help the most with TV and display advertising.
On the Various Challenges Facing European Publishers (and Some Solutions)
“As audiences age out, the number of print subscribers will plummet, and as older small business owners retire, old ways of doing business … retire with them as well,” David Mihm writes to Mike Blumenthal. “Legacy media companies that don’t evolve rapidly are going to be left with no audience and no customers.”
Latest Posts
Street Fight Daily: Lyft Reportedly Rejected $6B Offer, Uber-Google Rivalry Heats Up
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…
On-Demand Services and Apps Becoming Inevitable Tools for Reaching Customers
Plenty of companies claim to be the “Uber of” their respective markets, but there is more to making it in this scene than just getting goods to customers fast. And not every company gets it right immediately; there is a steep learning curve for handling the logistics behind on-demand services.
Can Augmented VR Turn Window Shoppers Into Buyers?
The technology is here — if not packaged yet — and ultimately the costs to manufacture will likely fall enough to allow SMBs to participate. But until that day arrives I guess we’ll have to hold up our smartphones or don bulky headsets to experience the future.
Street Fight Daily: Marketing Tech Brings in Big Bucks, Consumers Still Unsure About Mobile Wallets
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Why Venture Capitalists Are Betting on Marketing Tech Over Ad Tech… How Connected Cars Are Turning Into Revenue-Generating Machines… Brands Debate Pros and Cons of Reaching Consumers via WhatsApp…
Openings and New Hires at YP, RetailNext and TigerPistol
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 Yodle, Infogroup, Bridg, and Valpak.
Raise Report: LendUp, DroneDeploy, Vettery Secure Fresh Funding
Every two weeks, we round up some of the biggest fundraises taking place in hyperlocal marketing, commerce, and tech. This week’s edition includes new rounds for Simbi, Dexter, MediaBrix, and RedShelf.
TripAdvisor Acquires Social Mapping Service CityMaps
TripAdvisor has announced the acquisition of New York-based social mapping startup CityMaps. The company launched in 2010 as map-based aggregator of third-party data and later evolved into a navigational tool and guide for travelers. TripAdvisor spokesman said the company will continue to operate as a standalone business.
LBMA Podcast: Lyft, Klosebuy, Homebase and Indoor Atlas
Welcome to This Week in Location Based Marketing, a weekly video podcast from the Location Based Marketing Association with Asif Khan and Aubriana Lopez. On the show: PetSmart + MoodMedia, MediaMath + Factual, Pinterest, Be The Match + Snapchat.
Street Fight Daily: Uber Racks Up Big Losses, Businesses Coming to WhatsApp
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Uber Loses At Least $1.2 Billion in First Half of 2016… WhatsApp to Let Business Operate on its Platform… Major Quick-Serve Restaurant Deploys Drones for Food Delivery…
How Dashboards Are Shaping the Way Marketers Manage Local Campaigns
Vendors are pulling out all the stops to help small and mid-size businesses acquire and retain a higher percentage of their customers. And as merchants increase the number of platforms they use for local promotions, they’re relying more heavily on dashboards to correlate their digital efforts with financial successes.
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AI Won’t Fix Advertising – It May Scale Its Chaotic Nature