News and Analysis

How VR and AR Are Changing the Car-Buying Experience

Share this:

New cars are incredibly expensive, and most people don’t feel comfortable picking a vehicle based exclusively on two-dimensional images and whatever data they can pull up on the Kelley Blue Book website. Consumers don’t want to go into dealerships, either, so they end up delaying their purchases for as long as possible.

RelayCars thinks it has a solution.

The company has put together a program that uses augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) to help consumers research new cars and trucks. Getting a realistic view of a vehicle from their own homes helps users narrow down their selections and decreases the time shoppers need to spend test driving multiple cars.

Digital Advertisers Look to Connected Cars to Push Industry Forward

Share this:

As the industry continues to evolve, Geopath’s Kym Frank predicts that two-way communication between cars and advertisers will become even more commonplace and OOH strategies that involve connected vehicle data will be the norm among major brand advertisers.

“The car itself can communicate with digital displays to trigger optimal creative, and the billboard can communicate with the dash to trigger in-app ads,” Frank says. “We are at the very beginning of seeing what is possible and measuring those impacts.”

Airship Acquires Apptimize to Sharpen Mobile Marketing Experiences

Share this:

Airship rebranded to emphasize its shift from push notifications to a broader suite of messaging tools. Apptimize will help its clients iterate across channels and solutions as they attempt to find the best way to reach customers flooded with marketing and other kinds of media.

Commentary

Making Sense of Posts in Google’s SMB Product Portfolio

Share this:

“In local, most businesses do not have a transaction so Google wants to control the action,” Mike Blumenthal tells David Mihm. “If they can sell an ad, great, and if not then they take credit for a click or a call, driving directions or response to a CTA (and gather the data of those activities).”

Is Snapchat Quietly Redefining Local?

Share this:

Snapchat’s recent moves and related developments seem to indicate an emerging redefinition of what it means to be digitally local, a redefinition that is happening under our noses and without much fanfare as Snapchat works to gain and maintain the eyeballs of Millennials.

Local Providers Should Take Care in Interpreting Big Mobile Advertising Numbers

Share this:

One of the key themes of Mary Meeker’s annual presentation was mobile advertising — its growth, targeting, and measurability. But recent Street Fight surveys of SMBs and brand marketers indicate that mobile still has surprisingly low usage and perceived effectiveness.

Latest Posts

#SFSW16: Why the ‘Gig Economy’ Is Not the Future of Work

Share this:

In a morning keynote at Street Fight Summit West in San Francisco on Tuesday, Thumbtack CEO Marco Zappacosta discussed the challenges facing skilled professionals and long-term trends within the service sector.

5 Tools for Capturing Customers from Competitors

Share this:

Merchants can use multiple tactics to turn a competitor’s customers into their own, from timely advertisements and relevant mobile messaging to targeted social media coupons. Here are five examples of platforms businesses can use to poach customers from their competitors,

Street Fight Daily: Google AMP Yields Mixed Reviews, Voice Search Far From Mass Adoption

Share this:

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Publishers Give Mixed Reviews So Far to Google AMP… Voice Search Remains Far From Mass Adoption…

Yelp Extends Online Booking Capabilities With New Platform Partners

Share this:

Yelp took another step in its expansion into the online booking arena this morning, with the announcement that it would be adding five new platform partners to its roster: Whittl, TicketNetwork, delivery.com for laundry, Peek and foodjunky.

Pingup Partners with Yahoo to Expand Online Booking for Local Services

Share this:

Pingup, which describes itself as a “transaction platform for local services,” announced a new partnership with Yahoo this morning. The move expands Pingup’s publisher network, allowing users searching for local services on Yahoo to book an appointment on-demand through the Pingup platform.

Deliv CEO: ‘We’re Selling the Picks and Shovels’ for Brick-and-Mortar Gold Rush

Share this:

Deliv CEO and Founder Daphne Carmeli — who will be a speaker at Street Fight Summit West tomorrow in San Francisco — caught up with us recently to talk about what sets today’s delivery startups apart from their fallen predecessors.

Street Fight Daily: Publisher Reach on Facebook Declines, Grocery May Be Next Boon for Amazon

Share this:

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Publisher Reach on Facebook is Down 42% Since January… Shipping, Business Supplies, and Grocery Delivery — Not Echo — Most Likely to Be Amazon’s Next Growth Driver… What’s Next for Tronc: Scooping Up Other Newspapers…

Can Local Tech Make Dining Out ‘Seamless, Tailored & Magical?’

Share this:

Nowait CEO Ware Sykes, who will be a speaker at Street Fight Summit West next week in San Francisco, spoke with us recently about about how technology is rethinking the conventions of dining out for both customers and restaurateurs.

Openings and New Hires at Yext, Advice Local, Verve and Cuebiq

Share this:

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 Sightly, TapClicks and Modcloth.