News and Analysis
In Age of Social Media, Brands Must Stay On Top of Reputations Capable of Changing on a Dime
A single video posted to YouTube was all it took for Chuck E. Cheese’s online reputation to go up in flames this month, at least temporarily, when an internet celebrity posted his theory about the pizza chain’s misshapen pies. As viral conspiracy theories on social media become increasingly common, brands are finding that their initial response can set the tone and create a carry-on effect that impacts customer sentiment across dozens of multimedia channels.
AR in Local Commerce: Google Shows the Way
Mike Boland: A recent and relatively understated development from Google could portend the future of augmented reality. Its previously teased “VPS” was released into the wild for a small set of users. For those unfamiliar, VPS (visual positioning service) guides users with 3D overlays on upheld smartphone screens. Sort of a cousin of AR, this type of experience could represent the sector’s eventual killer apps. Though we’ve seen the most AR success so far in gaming (Pokemon Go) and social (Snapchat AR lenses), it could be more mundane utilities like navigation that engender high-frequency use cases.
Communicating on GMB Poses Some Challenges, but the Local Ecosystem Has Answers
Google has been hard at work on local in 2018 and 2019, taking strides toward making its Google My Business app the one-stop-shop for local businesses hoping to connect with customers through digital means. Nevertheless, local is a tricky, 24-7 business, and when it comes to connecting brick-and-mortars with customers nearby, Alphabet’s core business has some room for improvement.
Commentary
As Gannett Acquires ReachLocal, Some Lessons From Its U.K. Exit
As news filtered out earlier this week that media giant Gannett had bought ReachLocal for $156 million, it capped off several years of speculation in the local marketing industry about where the public company would end up. As a former ReachLocal employee (2010-2014) now living in Norway, I’ve watched the company as it has faced steep challenges […]
Latest Posts
Connectivity Culture Growing Beyond ‘Work Hard, Play Hard’
Marketing technology company Connectivity went from a 20-person company to an 80-person company in a year and a half, and it’s poised to continue accelerating. Part of Connectivity’s success stems from fostering experimentation. “We always want to hire people who are entrepreneurs themselves, and let them know that they’re not going to get in trouble for failing,” said CEO Matt Booth.
LBMA Podcast: Jet.com Job Prospects Experience the Office Using VR, PillPack Location-Based Alerts for Your Meds
On the show: Jet.com is using Samsung Gear VR to help job prospects experience the office; PillPack brings reminders and location-based alerts for your drugs; Uber partners with TomTom; PriceLocal launches in Charlotte; SingPost developing the O2O mall of the future. Plus, news from Coke; Google; Verve + Moat; Blippar; and Spotify.
Openings and New Hires at Moasis, EBTH, and Tout
Every two weeks, Geoff Michener covers some of the latest job changes taking place in this dynamic industry. In this week’s column, Moasis hires two ex-Googlers to its c-suite, Everything But The House makes a spree of executive hires, and video network Tout woos away a Deseret Digital Media leader.
Street Fight Daily: Groupon CEO on ‘Myths’ About the Company, P&G’s Snapchat Success
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Is Groupon ‘Misunderstood’? It Probably Is Under-Appreciated (Local Onliner)… How P&G Is Tying Snapchat Ads to In-Store Sales (Ad Age)… Newsonomics: Can You Get Readers to Pay a Dollar a Day for Digital News? (Nieman Lab)…
Targeting Consumers on the Holiday Purchase Path Means Reducing Friction
Around the holidays, consumers tend to spend a lot more time on multiple devices, altering standard shopping habits and behaviors. This means brands and businesses need to ensure they are accurately and competitively represented in search, social, and mobile channels, and that social engagement and advertising efforts are properly targeted to the right consumers at the right times.
Webinar Recap: Marketing and Customer Engagement Tactics for the Holiday Season
Black Friday is a week away. Is there anything brands and merchants can do before then to make their local marketing stand out amid the holiday crush? Yesterday’s Street Fight webinar, “Real-Time Location-Based Marketing Strategies for the Holidays,” in conjunction with Brandify, indicated there’s still time to implement some practical tactics that can make a difference.
Street Fight Daily: Square’s IPO Pricing Lower Than Anticipated, Google Brings App Content into Search
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… For Its IPO, Square Scales Back Valuation by $3 Billion (New York Times)… Google Just Scored a Huge Win for Its Mobile Search (Business Insider)… Starboard Urges Yahoo to Drop Alibaba Spinoff Plan (Wall Street Journal)…
StructuredWeb’s Nissan: We’re Just Starting to See the Complexity Curve Going Up
Long sales cycles, smaller target audiences, higher transaction values — all these characteristics separate B2B from B2C marketing. “There’s a level of precision that you need to have in the B2B space, because otherwise you can spend a lot of money without seeing any results,” said StructuredWeb president and CEO Daniel Nissan.
All Politics Is Data for 2016 and Beyond
The saying used to be that “all politics is local.” A more appropriate term for the 2016 election cycle might be “all politics is data.” In fact, with their emphasis on audience and local targeting and their growing adoption of programmatic buying, political campaigns have begun to increasingly resemble marketing campaigns.
Street Fight Daily: Google Brings Back Google+, Angie’s List Says No to Acquisition (Again)
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Four Reasons Why Google Is Bringing Google Plus Back to Life (Recode)… Angie’s List Turns Down IAC’s Second Offer to Buy It — This Time for $512 Million (Business Insider)… Lyft Executive Says on Track to Hit $1 Billion in Gross Revenue (New York Times)…
Street Fight’s Big 3
Street Fight Columns
Street Fight Categories
Beyond Likes: Win Hearts with Emotional Marketing