News and Analysis

Uber, Lyft, DoorDash Fight Gig Economy Law in California

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Ride-hailing giants Uber and Lyft are teaming up with restaurant delivery service DoorDash to fight California’s AB 5, a law that would force gig-economy companies that survive on contractor labor to register their drivers (or dashers) as employees and offer them benefits, Vox reported.

The coalition, the Protect App-Based Drivers and Services campaign, is attempting to place a referendum on the 2020 California ballot that would give voters the choice to exempt ride-sharing services from the law. That would presumably include DoorDash, which is not a ride-hailing service but essentially iterated Uber’s business model, employing drivers to escort food instead of passengers from A to B on demand.

The Vertical Approach to Grocery Marketing

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More than just a niche market inside the retail vertical, grocery marketing has grown to become an industry unto itself. According to eMarketer, grocery is the “least penetrated but fastest-growing category” in e-commerce. Explosive growth, fueled in part by the rising popularity of online grocers and on-demand delivery services, like Instacart, that deliver goods from brick-and-mortar stores, is behind the prediction that the grocery retail market will reach $12.24 trillion globally by 2020.

CPG brands and supermarket chains have been quick to adopt vertical-specific marketing platforms and tools. Although there are plenty of local retail marketing solutions that could be adaptable to the grocery industry, the supermarket itself is a unique environment and that makes verticalized solutions even more desirable in this arena.

Triller App Sets Its Sights on Taking Over TikTok

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A US-based music video platform and TikTok rival ‘Triller’ got a $28 million investment from Proxima Media and seems to have handed a stake in its business to all three major labels.

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Triller is potentially valued at $130 million. Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group, and Sony Music Entertainment each own a minority piece of the platform. In a press release announcing the $28m raise, Triller said that the new funds will fuel growth and product enhancements and that it has its sights set on overtaking competitor TikTok.

Commentary

How Using Wearables Data Can Strengthen Brands’ Outreach

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Wearables have the ability to become a conduit to exciting new revenue streams, but it’s up to marketers to take advantage of the data these devices generate, and to create a marketing ecosystem that evolves through contextually-based experiences that matter to the consumer.

Why Voice Search Is the Future

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Voice presents tremendous opportunities for location marketers to build their businesses, too. Companies such as Domino’s Pizza and Starbucks are tapping into voice to drive commerce, but the best way to capitalize on voice is to let consumers define your approach.

Making Sense of Posts in Google’s SMB Product Portfolio

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“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).”

Latest Posts

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.

5 Locally-Focused Meal-Kit Delivery Vendors

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Meal-kit delivery services are a segment of the food market that’s expected to grow to between $3 and $5 billion over the next decade. Companies deliver individually wrapped ingredients, along with plain-simple recipes, to their customers’ doors for a premium price. Here are five examples of meal-kit vendors taking a localized approach.

Street Fight Daily: Uber Pouring Profits into China, How Siri Third-Party Dev Works

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Profitable in Most Markets, Uber Is Spending Big to Win China… Here’s How Siri Will Work for Third-Party Developers… Washington Post Puts Branded Content on Facebook Instant Articles…

Targeted Ads Can Miss Targets — But They Still Keep Coming

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Over the past few weeks, I’ve received a barrage of ads for storage centers in St. Louis despite the fact that I live in South Carolina. I’m also seeing ads reminding me to “finish your trademark” event though I’m not interested in trademarking anything. I asked experts about why mis-targeted (and wasteful) ads like these persist, and what the ad industry is doing about them.

Street Fight Daily: Uber Partners with Factual, YouTube Lends Hand to SMBs

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Why Uber, Apple, and Facebook All Want Data From This Startup… YouTube Starts Producing Free Video Ads for Small Businesses… AirBnB Secures $1 Billion From U.S. Banks to Fund Growth…

Placed Connects Voting Patterns to In-Store Visits

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According to a new study by the location analytics firm Placed, there was zero overlap in the most popular businesses for Trump and Clinton supporters to visit. In order to come up with these results, Placed tracked the offline behavior of roughly two million opted-in consumers.

xAd Unveils Location Intelligence Platform for Brick-and-Mortar Businesses

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The New York-based location data company announced a new tool called MarketPlace Discovery on Wednesday. The platform will provide brands with insights about where consumers active in their industries are shopping.

How Local Publishers Can Make the Most of Non-Local Traffic Surges

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When local stories go viral, the often do so at the expense of local advertisers who see no added value in this influx of poorly targeted leads. So how do local publishers benefit from the periodic bonanza of visiting traffic without alienating their base?

Street Fight Daily: Facebook Tracks Offline Commerce, Uber Seeks $2 Billion In Leveraged Loans

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Facebook Taps GPS, Square to Track Your In-Store Visits and Purchases… Uber to Raise Up To $2 Billion in Leveraged-Loan Market… Pinterest Takes a Page from Facebook’s Playbook and Steps Up Its Ad-Targeting Game…