News and Analysis
What Comes Next for Indoor Navigation? Enterprise Success, SMB Struggles
Gimbal COO and CMO Matthew Russo says that at scale, indoor location technology is advanced enough that it works incredibly well. Russo says that at Gimbal, he has worked with major brand clients who are able to understand when a VIP walks into their lobby. They also know if the customer has waited too long at a check-in line, and they’re able to present customers with special offers or keyless check-ins at their rooms.
“But if you’re a pizzeria owner with a single storefront looking to send a push notification to people walking by, you probably won’t see the results you’re hoping for,” Russo says.
Could those scaling issues be holding back the indoor navigation industry, and if so, what’s the solution?
Strategy for Bolstering Brand Safety Online Combines AI, Human Linguists
Despite promises that they would do better, platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and others are still struggling with the issue. Brands don’t want their ads appearing alongside extremist content and hate speech, but flagging every piece of content that could be considered inappropriate is not an easy task.
The challenge has opened the door for a new industry of “authenticators,” which use technology to help brands avoid inappropriate content online. Using artificial intelligence and machine learning, these technology providers are usually able to evaluate the quality of an ad impression in real-time and help their brand clients avoid anything that could be considered inappropriate. Or at least, that’s what the goal is.
Pared Expands to DC, Connecting Gig Economy Workers with Restaurants
Pared, the platform matching restaurant and hospitality workers with businesses in need of staff to cover shifts, is expanding to DC. Pared is already live in New York and San Francisco, and it plans to expand to Philadelphia, Boston, and other locations in 2020.
The San Francisco-headquartered startup claims its service offers a prime deal for workers and businesses alike. It says it offers hospitality and food service workers higher wages and flexibility while offering businesses a ready workforce amid perennially high turnover in the industry.
Commentary
The Coming Polarization of the SMB Software Market
Strangely, despite the size of the opportunity you don’t find too many SMB companies in most VC portfolios. You see plenty of consumer and enterprise-focused startups, but much fewer on the SMB side. The reason for this is that it’s “hard” for companies serving SMBs to grow at the rate that can deliver “venture” returns.
Mobile Payments: Does Local’s Holy Grail Have Holes?
Mobile payments continue to be equally opportune and elusive. The potential benefits are huge, but I’m skeptical that mainstream consumers will alter their entrenched habits when they still don’t see cash or credit cards as a pain point.
The Coming DIY Cataclysm
“It seems like the agency business of the future — both large and boutique — will largely add value around integration of best-of-breed point solutions, which I don’t see many large entities like YP attempting to tackle yet,” David Mihm tells Mike Blumenthal.
Latest Posts
Inevitably, There’s a ‘Bot of Bots’ Digging Up Local Services
Bot Hunter allows queries about the latest hot bots, and its makers envision lots of local bots populating the platform. Key use cases include scheduling appointments, retrieving basic information, receiving automatic follow-ups after certain purchases, as well as promotions and loyalty programs.
Why Local Publishers Shouldn’t Aim So Exclusively for Millennials
I’ve been a cheerleader for local news organizations in their quest to attract Millennial audiences, but I’m starting to wonder if publishers are too convinced that reaching the youngest generation of adults is the magical elixir for all their problems.
Street Fight Daily: Local News Publishers Form Ad Company, Google Still Betting on Beacons
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… 4 of the Biggest Media Publishers in the U.S. Form an Advertising Company (Business Insider)… Google May Have Found a Way to Make the Real-World Web Work (Wired)… Apple Pursues New Search Features for a Crowded App Store (Bloomberg)…
Case Study: Fashion Retailer Boosts Engagement With Data-Driven Initiatives
Customer acquisition has never been a problem for the team at fashion consignment retailer 2nd Time Around. But generating the type of data that’s necessary to get a complete picture of customers had been a challenge, according to CEO Kristin Kohler Burrows.
The Rise of Text Messages as a Political Ad Medium
The 2016 election will be remembered for many things, but for marketers it will be the emergence of text messages as a medium. Text messaging has become an essential tool in running a political campaign and every candidate now uses SMS/MMS to get the word out.
Street Fight Daily: Kayak to Debut Restaurant Search, How Brands Can Use Chatbots Effectively
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Kayak to Launch Restaurants, Tours, and Activities Comparison-Shopping Features (Skift)… Can Brands Turn Real-Time Facebook Messenger Chats into Meaningful Engagements? (Mobile Marketer)… Ride-Hailing Start-Ups Compete in ‘Uber for Children’ Niche (New York Times)…
Survey: How National-to-Local Marketers Plan to Grow Their Digital Budgets
Street Fight recently surveyed decision makers at over 200 national-to-local marketers and found nearly half of them spend a third or more of their digital marketing budget in support of their franchises, branch offices, and distributors.
Publishers Finding Success With Tech Niches Within Their Local Markets
“Traditional media has national reach because if something has a big enough dollar sign next to it, it will get covered,” Streetwise Media’s Reid Snyder said. “We have national reach because we have this narrow and deep knowledge of local markets.”
Street Fight Daily: How Apps Are Changing Shopping, Facebook’s Plans for Messenger
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Shoppers Flock to Apps, Shaking Up Retail (Wall Street Journal)… Facebook Bets on a Bot Resurgence, Chattier Than Ever (New York Times)… The Newest Rainmakers at Publishers: Ecommerce Editors (Digiday)…
TableHero Serves Up Restaurants, But Can it Be the OS of Local?
“There’s an entire layer of mission critical technology that small local business owners know they need, but absolutely abhor their current relationship with technology,” says TableHero’s Deap Ubhi. “And at the foundation of that is digital presence, their Websites.”
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Meta Is Automating Ads, But Brands Still Face a Bigger Problem