News and Analysis

California’s Gig Economy Bill Becomes Law

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The landmark California gig economy bill that may force companies such as Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash that employ thousands of drivers as independent contractors to hire those people as employees became law today. Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom signed the bill.

If the bill does ultimately affect Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, and other companies in the so-called gig economy thriving on venture capital for the last decade, it will severely disrupt their business models, which rely on cheap labor. 

Constant Contact Expands Beyond Email, Adds Website Builder for SMBs

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Constant Contact, known for its email marketing platform, is expanding to offer an AI-driven website builder as well as tools for branding, productivity, and e-commerce. It’s the first major expansion for Constant Contact since its acquisition by Endurance International Group.

The company’s new website builder is specifically designed for SMB owners and operators without the time or expertise typically required to build an effective site from scratch. Constant Contact claims sites can be created in minutes.

Captivate and Hivestack Partner to Expand Programmatic DOOH Ads

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Location-based digital video network Captivate and location-based mar tech company Hivestack are teaming up to expand access to programmatic digital out-of-home ads, the companies announced.

Hivestack’s marketplace and ad exchange will allow customers to buy video inventory on Captivate, which will bring engaging video ads to offices across North America. Captivate offers a professional audience of particularly high interest to marketers.

Commentary

Accidental Ad-Blocking: The Brand-Safety Snag that Advertisers Can Fix

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When it comes to ads that brands want to publish on the web as well as in-app, there’s a brand-safety technology snag that many advertisers don’t know about — and it’s costing them in-app impressions. Think of it as accidental ad-blocking.

Cutting Through the Crowds at Festivals: How Brands Can Reach Summer Groupies

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When fans use their mobile phones to travel to or around a festival, or when contacting their friends on-site, they’re giving brands valuable information about where they are and what they like. And if advertisers know how to capitalize on this data, they’ll be able to identify and reach their ideal audiences.

Snapchat Expands Its Foray Into Local with Snap Map

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Pinterest and Snapchat both are turning digital space into a closer analogue to physical space, where we look for visual cues to understand the world. In different ways, both apps are collapsing the distance between virtual and real.

Latest Posts

Your Local Broadcast: Centric Finds the Cameras in Your Neighborhood

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The new service is a video discovery app and broadcasting platform that enable users to browse, view and interact with video that’s being shared around them. “It’s like being handed a new map to your neighborhood that has all sorts of stuff you didn’t know existed before,” said CEO Vincent Gibson.

#SFSW16 VIDEO: How On-Demand Is Changing the Way Brick-and-Mortar Businesses Compete With Ecommerce

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While ecommerce companies have doubled down on taking their chunks out of the local pie, some on-demand services are trying to find ways to use their immediacy to help brick-and-mortar businesses fight back. At Street Fight Summit West earlier this month, a panel looked at this tension between ecommerce and brick-and-mortar.

Street Fight Daily: Startups Tackle Local News, Facebook Partners With Undertone Networks

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Yahoo Launches Chatbot-Equipped Mobile Travel Guide… Undertone Partners with Facebook Canvas for Faster Mobile Ads and Better Targeting… Neighborhood Watch: Online Startups Tackle Local News…

Openings and New Hires at AOL, Swirl, Web.com

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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 Lavu, Blueshift Labs, and Placed.

#SFSW16 VIDEO: Connecting the Dots on the Path to Purchase

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To many in the industry, the idea of making connections between marketing impressions and dollars spent seems like it could be the holy grail — giving proof positive to businesses that their marketing dollars are well-spent, and unlocking further budget.

Street Fight Daily: The Voice Search Explosion, Publishers Tap Into Location-Based Programmatic

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Even Facebook Can’t Just Waltz Into the Location Data Space… How the Voice Search Explosion Will Change Local Search… Condé Nast, The New York Times, and Forbes Tap Into Location-Based Programmatic Platform…

#SFSW16 VIDEO: Rethinking Restaurants — Local Tech Remakes an Industry

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Restaurants are a particularly large and important vertical in local, and as such they’ve long been a testing ground for a variety of digital products. Now a new generation of companies is starting to use local marketing and delivery services to rethink what a restaurant is and how we think about our dining experiences.

Oilerie

Case Study: Franchisee Sees Better Customer Retention With iPad POS

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Social media plays an integral role in most local merchants’ marketing strategies, but Oilerie’s Lori Hackman says business owners have to do more than just post occasionally on Facebook or Twitter to get people engaged and motivated to come into their stores.

Street Fight Daily: Facebook Canvas Ads Flourish, Google Tests Click-to-SMS Extension

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Facebook’s Genre-Bending Canvas Ads Demonstrate the Social Network’s Strength… Startup Challenges Uber, Lyft with Lower Fares, Higher Driver Commissions… Search Ad Decline Report May Explain Google’s Friday Stock Drop…

Raise Report: Fresh Funding for YotPo, Amplitude, When I Work

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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 Recharge, ShipBob, Qloo, and Performance Horizon.