News and Analysis
Google Considers Buying TikTok Rival
TikTok could be seen as a competitor for YouTube, the video platform owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet. TikTok is typically seen as a greater threat to Facebook in the social category, and the social giant is testing a copycat app of its own to crush the insurgent. But more time on TikTok could also mean less time on YouTube in a tight attention economy, and TikTok’s fervent teen users apparently have Google concerned enough to spark a potential Firework deal.
7 Loyalty Platforms for Restaurants
One area where restaurants have particularly specific needs is in promoting customer loyalty. Vertical-specific loyalty platforms for restaurants tend to have features and capabilities that more generalized loyalty platforms do not. For example, many loyalty platforms for restaurants are tied to reservation systems, so waiters know customers’ preferences before seating them at their tables.
Although the number of loyalty platforms for restaurants is growing every day, we’ve put together a list of seven important players that anyone who is interested in this space should be following.
Amazon Pursues Retail-as-a-Service, Looking to Sell Go Tech to Cinemas, Airports
This time, it’s not Amazon Web Services, the cloud underpinning Amazon’s operations and those of other companies around the world, but Amazon’s Go technology that is being peddled to new clients. Bezos’ e-commerce behemoth is in talks to sell the flashy cashierless solution to movie theaters and airports, CNBC reported.
If Amazon is successful, the play to sell Go to other businesses may some day turn what now appears a revolutionary technical advance (with potentially devastating consequences for cashiers) into a commonplace asset. Just as AWS, the B2B play partially financing Amazon’s low-margin retail biz, supports thousands of businesses unbeknownst to their customers, Go-as-a-service could come to change all of retail without many consumers even realizing Amazon is behind changing checkout norms.
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
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.”
8 Branding Strategies for Hyperlocal Vendors
A strong brand strategy is the foundation of a winning launch, even though developing the strategy can increase the time it takes to get a new product to market. Here are eight brand development strategies for hyperlocal vendors, from founders and executives who’ve been in the trenches themselves.
Street Fight Daily: Facebook and Ticketmaster Partner, On-Demand’s Limitations
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Ticketmaster Will Sell Tickets Directly on Facebook in Coming Weeks (BuzzFeed)… The Looming Limits of On-Demand Delivery (Retail Dive)… Billy Penn Owner Narrows Search for Second City (Politico)…
Weather Company’s Webster Touts the Power of Forecast Data in Local Marketing
“We’re starting to have conversations about how we can take data and predict consumer behavior based on weather conditions,” says the Weather Company’s EMEA chief Ross Webster. “We’re not just looking at the weather as absolute … It’s much more about the different layers of weather data.”
Case Study: Timberland Empowers Local Retailers with Branded Content
“We know that our local retailers are the best way to engage and influence consumers,” says Frank Hwang, Timberland’s senior manager for digital and paid media. The company works with local retailers to provide product storytelling and brand lifestyle content for their digital and social media channels.
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