News and Analysis

Centro Teams with CannaVu to Bring Geo-Targeting to Cannabis and Normalize the Sector

Centro develops enterprise-class software for digital advertising organizations. CannaVu operates an ad exchange for cannabis and CBD marketers. Together, these two companies are working to change the way cannabis brands advertise online and break down the barriers that have slowed industry growth.

Companies Are Struggling to Manage IoT Data. Here’s Why

The devices around us are getting smarter. From the consumer’s perspective, that means refrigerators are sending notifications when the milk is running low, and thermostats are turning down the temperature when there’s no movement in the house. Businesses are relying on the data generated by connected devices to improve algorithms and make their existing products even smarter, but collecting and managing large volumes of data is creating a new set of challenges.

Globally, the IoT market is expected to reach $212 billion by the end of this year. With the worldwide number of IoT-connected devices projected to top 43 billion by 2023, the challenges associated with managing large amounts of data in real-time are growing at a rapid pace.

Apps Dominate Mobile Holiday Shopping

App fatigue, the feeling that a consumer simply cannot add yet another corporate app to her phone at a time when all enterprises seem to be competing for a place on mobile displays, is a major roadblock to successful app-based mobile strategies for retailers. But data from this holiday shopping season suggests that consumers are willing to download apps for the right incentives.

Commentary

Snapchat Expands Its Foray Into Local with Snap Map

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.

Comparing Enterprise and SMB Attitudes on Local Tech

In recent Street Fight surveys, both brands and local merchants reported that they are increasing the digital portion of their marketing spending. Over half (57%) of local merchants surveyed said that was the case, and 40% of the enterprise local marketers agreed.

One Size Does Not Fit All in the SMB Digital Market

“At the very least you have to recognize your day-to-day experiences both discovering and interacting with small businesses are wildly different from customers in rural markets,” David Mihm tells Mike Blumenthal in their biweekly chat.

Latest Posts

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

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

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…

Why Attributes and Identities Matter in Local Search

Google continues to remind businesses that location data is the foundation of their brands. The question is whether your business is taking advantage of the opportunities Google is creating to use location data to build your brand.

5 Pay-by-Mobile Vendors for On-Demand Parking

Parking is among the most popular uses for mobile payments, with 19% of consumers having paid for parking with their smartphones and 26% indicating they’d be interested in doing so. Here are five examples of vendors offering mobile payment parking solutions right now.

Street Fight Daily: Apple Opens Up Siri and Maps to Developers, Snapchat Ad Expansion

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Apple is Opening Up Siri, Maps, and Messages to Outside Development… Snapchat Launches a Colossal Advertising Expansion, Ushering in a New Era for the App… Google Pairs Facial Recognition with Location Tracking, Potentially Boosting Available Location Data…

Bypassing the Hurdles to Bring Programmatic to SMB Advertisers

SMB advertisers care about reaching consumers, not the nitty gritty of technology covered in the ad trades. Local media companies and smaller agencies should focus on how programmatic technology helps them sell that outcome, rather than get stuck selling the technology itself.

BUST: A Hard Landing as Soft Surroundings Files for Bankruptcy

Case Study: Virginia Retail Chain Shifts Print Ad Budget to Social Channels

Kim Glover, A. Dodson’s director of marketing, says that Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest make up the core of the retailer’s online marketing program — however the company is “always ready to evolve” with its customers as new platforms gain in popularity and usage.

Street Fight Daily: Microsoft to Buy LinkedIn, Google Maps Local Search Ads

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… 10 Things to Know About the New Google Maps Local Search Ads… Siri To Be the Focus of Apple’s Developers Conference… What Happened to Austin When Uber and Lyft Left Town …

8 More Community Sites Climb to Michele’s List Revenue Pinnacle in 2016

Overall, 78% of the 96 sites in the closely watched survey of independent news sites reported revenue increases in 2015, with 13% saying they doubled revenue and close to a third reporting gains of 50%.

Street Culture: Birdzi Finds ‘Liberation’ in Lack of Corporate Hierarchy

“What happens a lot of times in corporations is you find that decisions are made that can’t be questioned,” says CEO Shekar Ramen. “We don’t have any of that and we want to maintain the flat nature of our company as much as possible.”