News and Analysis
The Risks and Outsize Rewards of Political Branding
In a time of unprecedented political partisanship, the risks and rewards of corporate political messaging are amplified. Viral marketing strategies including Nike’s partnership with racial justice activist and football star Colin Kaepernick, Gillette’s toxic masculinity ad, and Chick-fil-A’s anti-LGBTQ stances rally political sympathizers to a brand’s side and alienate ideological foes.
Street Fight checked in with Jen Capstraw, director of strategic insights and evangelism at growth marketing company Iterable, to get a sense of how significant the benefits and drawbacks of political branding are, which ideological direction political ads are predominantly taking, and how strong the evidence is for the efficacy of partisan messaging.
Valuing Diversity, Gen Z Searches for Tailor-Made Holiday Experiences
Gen Z shoppers, in particular, have more friends with different races, gender identities, and sexualities than previous generations. They are more likely to be influenced by social media stars, who come from a wide variety of backgrounds, than traditional Hollywood celebrities. As a result, members of this generation value diversity more than other generations, and that value influences their purchasing decisions year-around.
“If you look at baby boomers from this lens, they’re far more homogenous. Millennials and Gen Z are the antithesis [of] homogeneity,” Hebets says. “Brands need to understand that millennials and Gen Z don’t want to be put in the traditional box with respect to marketing or otherwise. They want brands to embrace and recognize their diversity.”
Retailers Wooing Holiday Shoppers Try AI On for Size
What if e-commerce retailers could use technology to replicate the role of the in-store sales associate, providing people at home with the type of personal attention that really drives sales?
Technology vendors are working feverishly to make that a reality. Using artificial intelligence and voice assistants, like Amazon’s Alexa, Google Home, and Siri, online retailers are beginning to imagine a world where shoppers can ask their voice companions for recommendations on product fit or gift suggestions in specific price ranges. There may even be a time, not too far in the future, when shoppers can get personal feedback during try-ons inside their own closets, thanks to “smart” mirrors and other virtual reality technology.
Commentary
Local Providers Should Take Care in Interpreting Big Mobile Advertising Numbers
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.
How Sports Marketers Can Extend Their Brands and Win Big This Summer
With so much opportunity — and competition — how can marketers stand out from the crowd and forge meaningful relationships with sports fans? Here are some best practices that will enable marketers to identify their perfect audiences and build lifelong relationships with fans.
Are Website Builders the Next Big Growth Market in Local?
Website builders have been around almost as long as the internet itself. As you would expect, this is a busy market. Sitebuilderreport.com tracks 35 vendors. There are many more. Interestingly, only 4 of the 35 vendors get a good rating. Clearly, this is a large market that is ready for new and better solutions.
Latest Posts
Street Fight Daily: Amazon Crushes Rivals on Mobile, Tribune Rebrands as Tronc
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Amazon is Blowing Away Competitors on Mobile… Ericsson: IoT Connections Will Crush Mobile by 2018… Tribune Publishing Becomes Tronc to Reflect Strategic Pivot…
Moz CEO: Establishing Attribution Is About Building Businesses’ Trust
A lot of local marketing companies are operating in the shadow of prior practices and companies that created a lot of distrust in the market, says Moz CEO Sarah Bird, who will be a speaker at Street Fight Summit West next week: “Part of the vision of online-to-offline attribution is to overcome that snake oil effect and build trust so you can point to data.”
Lee Enterprises and Okanjo Team Up to Match Ads to News ‘Sentiment’
Up until now, most digital ad targeting has focused on marrying the right ad with the individual user. But that kind of targeting can be hit or miss. This new partnership will try and connect the right kind of ad messages to the right editorial content across Lee’s 20 million monthly visitors.
Street Fight Daily: Uber Closes $3.5 Billion Round, Mary Meeker’s 2016 ‘Internet Trends’
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Uber Turns to Saudi Arabia for $3.5 Billion Cash Infusion… 7 Key Data Points from Mary Meeker’s 2016 Internet Trends Report… Facebook Says Its New Tech Can Understand Text With ‘Near-Human’ Accuracy…
FiveStars Digs Deeper Into Customer Data to Get Beyond ‘Loyalty’
FiveStars co-founder and CEO Victor Ho, who will be a speaker at Street Fight Summit West next week, caught up with us recently to talk about the efficiency of retention marketing, the shift from daily deals to digital loyalty programs, and what analyzing the trove of SMB consumer data can potentially yield.
7 Automated Customer Service Solutions for Merchants
Savvy business owners are looking for ways they can use hyperlocal technology to manage the increasing number of customer requests, issues, and even complaints, without taking time away from the hundreds of other tasks they juggle on a daily basis. Here are seven examples of platforms that can help businesses react nimbly and effectively.
Street Fight Daily: Instagram Apes Facebook’s Ad Biz, Uber’s Leasing Expansion
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Salesforce Buys Demandware for $2.8 Billion, Taking a Big Step Into E-Commerce… Instagram’s Ad Business Starting to Look More and More Like Facebook’s… Inside Uber’s Auto-Lease Machine, Where Almost Anyone Can Get a Car…
DoorDash CEO: Opportunity in Local Delivery Is ‘Vast’
“The core thesis … is to build a new type of logistics company where we’re using software that makes a lot of decisions previously made by humans,” said DoorDash CEO Tony Xu, who will be a keynote speaker at Street Fight Summit West. We spoke with him about scoring funding in a cooling investment market and the future of delivery as the company’s primary service.
Sussing Out Google’s Master Plan in the Post-App Era
Google’s counter-attack to the world of apps can be seen in several places. In fact most Google moves are to drive mobile behavior through its front door. This principle underpinned nearly every announcement at Google I/O.
Sponsored Post: Infographic—How SMBs Need to Do Local Marketing
There is no better way for a local business to get its digital marketing in place than through a full understanding of key tools; by linking up with a digital agency; and focusing efforts on one channel that delivers powerful results. For the past four weeks in this space, LocalVox has delivered those insights and hands-on tactics, plus resources to provide SMBs a clear path to getting started and succeeding…
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