News and Analysis
Waymo Releases Data Set to Catalyze Autonomous Driving Research
Why should local search specialists care about autonomous vehicles? The same way mobile, with its natural on-the-go use cases, has become the hub of “near me” searches that lead consumers into local businesses, cars will become the next mobile device, catalyzing the next wave of “near me” queries. Self-driving cars are not tangential to the future of local; they are central to it.
4 Major Takeaways About Consumer Privacy Concerns
Location data firm Factual commissioned a study conducted by the University of Southern California applied psychology master’s program to take the pulse of consumers on data privacy. Unsurprisingly, not all consumers demographic groups share the same levels and types of concern. Here are four major takeaways from the survey of 1,002 smartphone users aged 18 to 65.
By Unlocking Vehicle Data, Car Rental Companies Help Build Smarter Cities
As operator of three of the most recognized brands in the industry — Avis, Budget and Zipcar — Avis Budget Group represents a mobility ecosystem of more than 11,000 locations in approximately 180 countries. The company recently partnered with the connected-car data firm Otonomo to manage its connected cars on Otonomo’s automotive data services platform. Otonomo will help ABG derive insights from its large connected vehicle fleet, including anonymizing, standardizing, and delivering data from Toyota, Ford, Peugeot and GM vehicles.
The deal between ABG and Otonomo is expected to generate more than 4 billion road miles of data this year, and 7 billion road miles of data by 2020, with much of that data being used for predictive maintenance, smart city planning, and streamlining of the rental process.
Commentary
Is It Time to Redefine ‘Local’ Marketing?
We’ve reached a pivot point where local market nuances and differences can create definable opportunity. I am not saying that the age of the big box retail or e-commerce portal are over, but if a brand does a better job at leveraging local marketing it can create a competitive advantage and differentiation point.
Making Sense of Amazon’s Push Deeper Into Local
Clearly Amazon is positioning itself in the sales funnel aggressively, Mike Blumenthal tells David Mihm. “And unlike Google their presale efforts lead directly to sales that they control. ”
Why Mobile Payments Will Heat Up in 2017
Mobile payments have been inhibited by point-of-sale hardware upgrade requirements and the lack of a killer pitch for either users or merchants. But the movement to chip-based credit and debit cards in the U.S. could help.
Latest Posts
Street Fight Daily: Publishers to Use Facebook Messenger to Reach Consumers, Groupon CEO on Strategy
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Facebook Plans to Open Messenger to Publishers (Marketing Land)… Groupon CEO: ‘We Win If Local Businesses Win’ (Silicon Republic)… Europe’s Antitrust Enforcer on Google, Apple, and the Year Ahead (New York Times)…
Street Culture: A Different Approach to Hiring and Firing
The current shortage of tech talent means candidates who have high-demand skills, such as programming, have their pick of employers. Startups are responding to that by creating ultra-transparent, collaborative workplaces.
LMC’s Coats Not Bullish on ‘Information Trust Exchange’ to Monetize Content
After mulling over the recent proposal to realign publishers’ relationships with advertisers and readers, I went to Rusty Coats, executive director of the Local Media Consortium, to see if he thought it was something legacy media companies would buy into.
LBMA Podcast: LiveNation’s LBM Platform, UPS Invests in Deliv
On the show: Sodimac lets you sleep on the side of the highway; Yahoo! Japan partners with IndoorAtlas; ASDA + Clear Channel UK; xAD launches MarketPlace; PlaceIQ and LiveRamp work together for TV ads; Geofeedia and Dell partner.
Street Fight Daily: Angie’s List Dropping Paywall, Amazon Strengthens IoT Offerings
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Angie’s List to Drop Paywall for a Freemium Model (TechCrunch)… It’s Amazon Echo’s World; Alphabet’s Nest Just Lives in It (Recode)… When It Comes to Platforms, Agencies Have Snapchat On Their Minds (Digiday)…
Lessons Learned in the Email Marketing Wars About ‘Selling to SMBs’
Constant Contact’s recent announcement that it would be acquired by EIG, got me reflecting on the past 15 years and how much the industry’s evolution has taught me about what it takes to effectively sell to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).
6 Call Tracking Platforms for SMBs
As SMBs explore new digital advertising opportunities, they’re becoming even more reliant on call tracking platforms to determine what’s working and what’s not. Here are six examples of call tracking platforms that businesses are using right now.
Street Fight Daily: Facebook Reaches 3M Advertisers, Googler Explains AdWords Changes
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Facebook Just Passed 3 Million Advertisers — Here’s Why It’s Doubling Down on Small Businesses (Business Insider)… Google’s Take on the Recent Changes to the Results Page (Search Engine Land)… The Inside Story of Uber’s Big Bet on Food (Business Insider)…
Local Media Companies Tout Events for Revenue Diversification
At that Borrell Associates event this week in New York, several speakers touted local live events — from awards shows, to beer tastings, to road races — as a potentially lucrative revenue stream with sizable margins, that local publishers could easily expand into.
Unacast Partners With Opera to Let Marketers Retarget Consumers Using Beacon Data
The partnership potentially represents a shift from the GPS data that advertisers have previously relied upon for recent location ( which only works when users are outdoors and actively using their mobile devices) and toward more granular beacon data in profile creation and retargeting.
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AI Won’t Fix Advertising – It May Scale Its Chaotic Nature