News and Analysis
Report: Websites and GMB Profiles Both Essential for Local Businesses
A whopping 64% of respondents indicated relying on Google My Business to find contact information for local business, suggesting it’s an indispensable platform. Yet consumers still trust local business websites most of all, and only 8% say they never consult a business’ website when making shopping decisions.
Brands Push Forward with Automation, But Privacy and Creepiness Concerns Remain
“Marketing automation is all the rage. Everyone feels like they need to ‘do it’ or they’ll be left behind. That rush to do the latest ‘new thing’ without thoughtful planning often leads to failure,” says Winston Lord, co-founder of Venga, a guest management platform that uses automation to enhance customer experiences. “It’s critical to build a 360 degree view of your client and your strategy before implementing marketing automation.”
Programmatic OOH Is Real. Why Isn’t Your Agency Using It More?
The ad tech industry’s state of flux and disarray spurs confusion and buyer skepticism of real innovation. This is particularly prevalent in rapidly evolving areas like programmatic that also contend with existing legacy trust issues. I come across this every day, as there seems to be a persistent rumor that programmatic Out of Home (OOH) is “fake,” and that, when looking under the hood, programmatic OOH is merely an automated process for reserving and purchasing inventory. This misconception results in missed opportunities for marketers.
Commentary
Reimagining the Mobile Banner: In-App Ad Innovation Spares Brands from Google’s Interstitial Pinch
The future of our work is about designing smarter ways to reach users, so we need to focus on ways to drive engagement, not distraction. And that means finding subtle things that trigger the meaningful interactions. This isn’t 1999; we’re not building banners for last century’s desktop.
So, as January 10 approaches, let’s look at some creative models from the app side of the table
Latest Posts
Understanding the Context of Local Advertising’s Supply and Demand
The current election cycle, if nothing else, has demonstrated the importance of context in the supply and demand of local media. In this type of market, the early bird gets the worm. Consumer brands are learning this lesson the hard way and getting shut out of local opportunities that otherwise might have been available.
Street Fight Daily: Alphabet Earnings Show Google Search Still On Top, Local Advertising’s ‘Context’
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Google Search Leads the Way as Alphabet Beats Earnings Expectations (Adweek)… Placed’s Shim: Location-Based Optimization Is the ‘SEO of 2016’ (GeoMarketing)… Yahoo Takes Declining Share of Worldwide Ad Revenues (eMarketer)…
Retale CEO Touts ‘Tremendous Potential’ of Virtual Reality for Shopping
Retale, a mobile app that brings local circulars to consumers, is jumping right in to VR/AR, launching what it calls “the world’s first virtual reality location-based shopping companion.” Street Fight recently caught up with Retale CEO Christian Gaiser to discuss why the company is betting this technology will become a vital channel for future shoppers.
7 Ways Local Merchants Can Use Messaging Apps for Marketing
Smartphone messaging apps were used by more than 1.4 billion consumers last year, but very few of the conversations that took place were between shoppers and local merchants. Here are seven examples of ways that local merchants can start using messaging apps to improve customer service and boost customer acquisition right away.
LBMA Podcast: Proxfinity, Estimote, Carrefour and Basket
On the show: Real holograms thanks to Kino-Mo; Samsung’s TipTalk lets you talk into your finger; Down with walkie-talkies thanks to Theatro; Microsoft’s Skip means no lineups at Gerrity Supermarkets; PlaceIQ trumps that with $25M; Microsoft is acquiring InMobi; InMarket puts beacons in every RiteAid store. Our App selection is Basket from Andy Ellwood.
Street Fight Daily: UberRUSH Now Delivers Your Nordstrom Orders, Facebook’s Mobile Dominance
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… UberRUSH Now Delivers the Same Day from Nordstrom and Other Big Retail Stores (TechCrunch)… How Facebook Turned Its Greatest Weakness Into Its Greatest Strength (Forbes)… Amazon Sales Soared 22% in Holiday Quarter, but Profit Fell Short (New York Times)…
Independent Agencies Are Getting Boxed Out of Adtech