News and Analysis
Captivate and Hivestack Partner to Expand Programmatic DOOH Ads
Location-based digital video network Captivate and location-based mar tech company Hivestack are teaming up to expand access to programmatic digital out-of-home ads, the companies announced.
Hivestack’s marketplace and ad exchange will allow customers to buy video inventory on Captivate, which will bring engaging video ads to offices across North America. Captivate offers a professional audience of particularly high interest to marketers.
How Retailers Use AI, Mapping to Boost ROI on Store Remodels
Walmart, Walgreens, and Sephora are all using artificial intelligence technology to improve the retail experience. While the majority of use cases for AI in retail have focused on enhancing the shopping experience for customers, forward-thinking analytics firms are innovating and developing new uses for their existing AI technology.
The analytics firm Fractal Analytics is pushing forward in the retail space with its own solution that relies on AI to forecast the cost of retail store remodels, as well as determine the ROI from large-scale renovation projects. Although Fractal works solely with Fortune 500 companies, the solutions it is developing could be adopted more broadly throughout the retail space.
Google Hit With Another $500+ Million Fine
Google is in the news for the wrong reasons again. The search giant agreed to pay a 500 million euro fine (about $550 million) to settle a French fiscal fraud probe after investigators in the country accused it of dodging taxes, Reuters reported.
Google’s headquarters are in Dublin, Ireland, where it settles all sales contracts to avoid paying higher taxes in the rest of Europe. Alphabet isn’t the only company to take advantage of tax loopholes to avoid paying its fair share; Apple and Facebook also have large operations there.
Commentary
Tried and True Marketing Tactics SMBs Can Borrow From Premium Brands
Many small-but-growing businesses have a multi-store operation and a dynamic online presence, but simply can’t afford the custom-built, integrated retail and ecommerce systems that keep a premium brand’s customer experience tight and consistent. Here are some tactics they can employ to hack that problem.
What Does the Bot Bubble Mean for Facebook’s Long Game?
“Facebook has long been a force in post-sale retention and Messenger can really play a huge part as a CRM tool,” Mike Blumenthal tells David Mihm. “I see it as the “real” social network… the one where folks communicate with those closest to them.”
Yext’s IPO Could Raise All Boats in Local — And Herald Consolidation
While the company’s long-anticipated announcement yesterday didn’t come as a huge surprise for those following local, the news that it was imminent still packed a punch. So we asked several luminaries to weigh in on what the offering might portend for the broader industry.
Latest Posts
Street Fight Daily: Comcast-backed Firm Bets $250M on Groupon, OOH Advertising’s ‘Renaissance’
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Comcast-Backed Firm Makes $250 Million Investment in Groupon (Bloomberg)… Technology Fuels Renaissance in Out-of-Home Advertising (AdAge)… Does Google Stand a Chance Against Facebook in Mobile Display? (Marketing Land)…
Automating Local Commerce: Rise of the Chatbots
Bots could displace apps just as apps displaced search. “Search started with consumers typing into a box,” Pingup’s Ron Braunfeld said recently. “[AI] is all about knowing where you are, time of day, what’s in your refrigerator; and giving you the right information without having to search.”
Case Study: How a New York Car Dealership Generates Online Leads
At his family-owned used car dealership, Anthony Curran works as a salesman and also handles marketing. He says a recent campaign with Facebook had a lot of success: “In the first week we had over 80,000 people reached. Since then, everyone has been mentioning seeing us on Facebook.”
Street Fight Daily: Reserve Acquires Dash, Shoppers Save Big Purchases for Desktop
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Reserve Acquires Mobile Payments Startup Dash (TechCrunch)… U.S. Shoppers Save Big-Ticket Online Purchases for Desktop (Quartz)… Report: Search Drives 10x More Traffic to Shopping Sites Than Social Media (Search Engine Land)…
Gimbal CEO Says Getting Beacons Right Means Moving Beyond the Coupon
“When people started thinking of beacons, they thought it was the place to [deliver] the coupon offer,” says Jeff Russakow, “but what we’re finding is that there is a broader and richer experience to be had through beacon deployment.”
5 On-Demand Apps for Emergency Services
While dialing 911 is the correct response when major emergencies occur, it isn’t always appropriate for lesser events, like flat tires or minor medical injuries. For events that are urgent but not life-threatening, a host of specialty on-demand apps are looking to fill the void.
Street Fight Daily: Amazon Could Buy Stake in HERE, New Subscription Service from Postmates
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Amazon In Talks to Buy Stake in Mapping Company HERE (Yahoo Finance)… Postmates Launches Subscription Service, Hits 1M Monthly Deliveries (TechCrunch)… More Brands Mean Many More Buttons for Amazon Service (New York Times)…
‘Indie’ Pureplays Capitalize on Newspaper Turmoil in Big SoCal Markets
As founder of the independent pureplays Times of San Diego and My News LA, Chris Jennewein is going up against Tribune Publishing, owner of the San Diego Union-Tribune and the Los Angeles Times, both once-reigning print dailies that are trying to make a comeback in the crowded digital space.
Case Study: Using Digital Coupons to Generate Calls
In today’s competitive landscape, digital marketing firms are honing their sales pitches and investing in innovative new technologies to stand out from the pack. But when Don Fuller’s Appliance Repair co-owner Lisa Fuller evaluates a vendor, she looks at something that’s harder to quantify — sincerity.
Street Fight Daily: Tim Armstrong’s AOL Goals, Square Launches New Payments Tools
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… AOL’s Tim Armstrong Aims to Build Digital-Ad Empire at Verizon (Wall Street Journal)… Square Has a New Growth Hack to Increase Its Payment Processing Volume (Recode)… Car-Pooling Helps Uber Go the Extra Mile (New York Times)…
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AI Won’t Fix Advertising – It May Scale Its Chaotic Nature