News and Analysis
Fresh Chalk Has a New Take on Local Reviews
Despite digital change, recommendations from friends remain one of the most credible forms of marketing. Now, a new startup called Fresh Chalk is aiming to capitalize on that, giving consumers a way to find local professionals with help from their friends.
Like Yelp, Facebook, Google, and other local business directories, Fresh Chalk is aiming to help people source recommendations from reliable, qualified businesses in their own communities. But unlike most other competitors in the market, Fresh Chalk is keeping a tight focus on personal connections.
This Largely Brick-and-Mortar Industry Is Resisting Digital Disruption
Despite Amazon’s high-profile acquisition of Whole Foods in 2017, grocery is the bastion of brick-and-mortar shopping proving unusually resistant to a takeover by digital channels. At least, that is the vision of consumers, only 15% of whom say they are excited about the technical “revolution” in grocery, according to a new report on the future of retail by Walker Sands.
Startups Adapt to Shifting Privacy Standards
Two steps forward, one step back. That’s what it can feel like to be a technology provider in the location marketing space right now, struggling to strike a balance between the demands of brand marketers and growing concerns over consumer privacy and data regulation.
That push and pull is challenging vendors in the location marketing space. At the same time their firms should be seeing exponential growth, data regulations—including the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and California’s forthcoming Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)—are establishing new rules for innovation.
But some companies are embracing the regulation as a challenge to innovate in its own right.
Commentary
How Brands Can Get More Out of Their Brick-and-Mortar Marketing
Marketers that fail to see local storefronts as a critical channel are missing out on a rich sales opportunity. Brands invest $70 billion in local markets each year, but a significant portion of that spend often goes to waste because they fail to work collaboratively with their local partners.
What Is the Essential Digital Marketing Bundle for Local Businesses?
Where should small businesses be spending their money (or energy) right now to maximize their digital investment? Mike Blumenthal and David Mihm say it all starts with a website and listings management, and includes a variety of services like email newsletters, reviews management, and even Facebook ads.
Study Points to Opportunities to Help Big Marketers and their Affiliates
Brandmuscle’s analysis of its own customer base shows that co-op support is not aligned with digital and social media marketing. Nearly 60% of them manage their marketing themselves, though their digital efforts are more effective if they outsource management to agencies or vendors.
Latest Posts
Street Culture: Parking App SpotHero and Employees Working Out the Kinks
SpotHero, an on-demand app that helps drivers find parking spots, is at a turning point in its growth. The company grew from 35 employees to 75 in 2015, and is currently hiring for about 20 positions. The company is working to create policies that will keep everyone engaged and the business moving forward.
How the SMB/Local Advertising Community Can Avoid ‘Bad Ads’
Google’s recent “Better Ads” report demonstrates that while digital is a great channel for reaching consumers, a positive experience is perhaps the most crucial component of a successful ad campaign, especially for advertisers using programmatic to buy and serve their ads.
LBMA Podcast: Miami Heat Taps AisleLabs, UberRush Delivers for Nordstrom
On the show: Coors Light brings local music tastes to your ears with help from Shazam; Wells Fargo and BoA welcome ApplePay; PeopleCount launches PlacesCount; Best Buy brings in Slyce; ViaDirect partners with Broadsign; ShopperTrak launches Advanced Analytics offering; and more.
Street Fight Daily: GrubHub to Rebrand, New Stats Show Importance of Mobile to Physical Shopping
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… GrubHub Q4 Financials Show Growth as Company Plans a Rebranding (Chicago Business Journal)… More Than M-Commerce: Mobile Is Part of 46% of All Shopping Journeys (GeoMarketing)… Internet of Things Is Changing How Media and Entertainment Companies Operate (eMarketer)…
New President’s Focus at Hearst Digital: ‘News Users Can’t Get Anywhere Else’
“Many quality news sites with paywalls equate ‘premium’ with ‘quality journalism,’ where the paywall encircles the most expensive, ambitious and time-consuming public-service journalism,” says Rob Barrett, who recently took over as president of Hearst Newspapers Digital. “That’s not how the minds of consumers necessarily work.”
As Mobile Ordering Platforms Evolve, Expect More Personalization and Integration
Consumers are more likely to seek out restaurants that accept mobile orders, with 34% saying that technology is the reason why they’re ordering takeout more frequently. To keep these customers excited and engaged, vendors have to keep innovating and improving. Here are some predictions from top executives about where things are headed.
Street Fight Daily: Geofeedia to Expand After $17M Series B, How Patch Succeeds Post-AOL
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Geofeedia Raises $17M to Help Businesses Tap Into Social Location Data (TechCrunch)… Patch Rebounds After Split From AOL (Wall Street Journal)… Why Would Amazon Want To Be the New Barnes & Noble? (New Yorker)…
With New Attribution Feature, Placed Can Tell Whether Your Billboard Is Hot or Not
Seattle-based Placed announced this morning that with Placed Attribution, which was unveiled back in July, the company can bridge the gap between OOH ads (billboards) and physical store visitations.
Report: More Than 70% of Franchisees Use a Digital Agency
Franchisees (and their co-op spending) represent an important segment of the local digital marketing ecosystem, and a new report reveals that these businesses are starting to accelerate their adoption of digital media and platforms, and are increasingly working with digital agencies.
Telmetrics Names New CEO, Looks to Prove the Value of Phone Calls — And the Digital Ads That Drive Them
The call tracking and call analytics company announced this morning that it has named Andrew Osmak its new CEO, replacing David Howard (who assumes the role of chairman of the company’s board). Osmak had been managing partner of Toronto-based Leverage Capital.
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AI Won’t Fix Advertising – It May Scale Its Chaotic Nature