News and Analysis

Olo Deal Helps Restaurants Access Traffic From Google’s Platforms

Ninety percent of consumers research restaurants online before dining—more than any other business type—and the vast majority of those web searches start on Google. The search giant plays an important role in the success of restaurant marketing online, making it a desirable partner for any digital platform serving the restaurant industry.

Partnering with Google often means increased search traffic and a strengthened position within the restaurant vertical, which helps to explain the enthusiasm coming from Olo’s recent announcement that it will be working with Google to allow its restaurant partners to receive orders directly from Google Search, Maps, and Google Assistant.

6 Scheduling Platforms for Fitness Studios

One of the most exciting verticals right now is the fitness space, where the number of boutique gyms and studios is on the rise. Scheduling software has become an absolute necessity for fitness studios, giving clients a way to quickly book classes, pay for memberships, and even check in from their smartphones.

Here are six scheduling platforms serving the fitness vertical.

Direct-to-Consumer Brands Are Winning at Personalized Messaging. Here’s Why

According to new research conducted by Braze, a company that specializes in growth marketing automation, direct-to-consumer brands beat non-direct-to-consumer brands with 58.6% higher messaging open rates across channels.

One reason for the higher open rates is because direct-to-consumer brands show greater willingness to use automation and iteration to personalize messages and speak to customers at a point in the journey when it makes sense for them.

Commentary

Are We on the Brink of a Retail Revolution?

Revolutions often happen over short periods of time and leave death and carnage in their wake. What we are experiencing today in retail is more of an evolution — a sort of “survival of the fittest” as both local and big brand retailers either embrace shifting consumer shopping patterns or face extinction.

What We Talk About When We Talk About ‘Fake News’

“Fake news” is actually about stories written to win clicks (and potentially do harm). Losing the focus on this accurate definition to spin and political jockeying creates a challenge for the business of marketers, advertisers, and publishers.

What Happens When Google Can Manipulate the Very News It Seeks to Protect?

A recent controversy finds the search giant caught in a contradiction. The company has strong financial interest in acting as the gatekeeper to the news. But Google also has a strong interest in portraying itself positively in the news that it effectively controls.

Latest Posts

How Facebook Helps Small Businesses Stay Relevant on Mobile

In a presentation at LOCALCON in London last week, Facebook’s product manager for local ads, Joe Devoy, took the stage to talk about how the company thinks about serving small businesses. The speech reflected the company’s broader strategy: build so many everyday functions into the Facebook mobile app that no one ever really has to leave it.

Why Top Newspaper Groups Are Pitching New ‘Solutions’ to the Ad Market (Part 1)

The top four newspaper groups in the country — Gannett, Tribune Publishing, McClatchy and Hearst — have formed a national network called Nucleus Marketing Solutions. Street Fight recently spoke with NMS’s CEO Seth Rogin, about the push-pull dynamics involved in creating and monetizing quality journalism online.

Street Fight Daily: Twitter Integrates with Yelp, Facebook’s Geotargeting Capabilities

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Twitter Integrates with Yelp for Location Tags in the UK and Japan, Bypassing Foursquare (TechCrunch)… How a Senator Used Facebook Ads to Influence Employees in a Single D.C. Building (Fusion)… The Road to Self-Driving Cars Winds Through Here (Crain’s Chicago)…

Openings and New Hires at MindBody, NavAds, TruMeasure

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 Wrap Media, Yieldbot, and Facebook.

Raise Report: New Funding for Affirm, NestAway, Rinse

Every two weeks, we round up some of the biggest fundraises taking place in hyperlocal marketing, commerce, and tech. This week’s edition includes new cash infusions for AdTile, Luka, and Beekeeper.

Street Fight Daily: IAB’s Annual Digital Report, Publishers Threatened by the Rise of Platforms

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Digital Advertising Revenue Jumped 20% in 2015 (Adweek)… Most Smartphone Owners Use Location-Based Services (eMarketer)… Google’s Parent Alphabet Misses Profit Expectations As Moonshot Spend Soars (The Guardian)…

Why Online Locations Matter Even More in the New Retail Landscape

In order to compete in the the new information-rich environment, businesses have been presented with a new and complex challenge: to win the battle for consumer attention they have to appear wherever customers are looking.

Hexagon Geospatial Aims to Make Maps More Important Than Ever Using Geo-data and Analytics

These days, we rely on maps not only to provide us a route, but also to be relevant in real-time. If a road is closed, we expect our map app to tell us as much. If a place of business we were planning on driving to is no longer open, then our map better have that information.

Street Fight Daily: Google Officially Charged by EU, Facebook’s TV-Like Ad Buying

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… EU Files Formal Charges Against Google Over Android Conduct (Wall Street Journal)… Ad Buying on Facebook Just Got More TV-Like (AdAge)… Ad Tech Is Broken. Here’s How Newsrooms Can Help Fix It (Poynter)…

Displacement and Measuring the Unknown in Multi-Device, Multi-Channel Marketing Attribution

Now more than ever, conversions are the metric used to measure the value of every pit stop along the customer journey as it moved across multiple devices and channels. Displacement-based attribution strategies help marketers stay in step with consumers.