News and Analysis

5 Privacy-Focused Data Marketplaces

Just 27% of adults feel like they have “some control” over how their personal data is used by mobile apps and services, according to a recent survey by Mobile Ecosystem Forum. The desire to have more say over how personal data is used is leading to a new technology vertical, as next-generation data brokers put together marketplaces where consumers can offer up their own data to brands in exchange for cash and other lucrative incentives.

Here are five examples of services that consumers are using to take control of the data they share with advertisers and keep their private information private.

4 Marketing Use Cases for AR Today

Augmented reality is making the leap from hyped technology of the future to driver of cutting-edge marketing techniques today. To document the state of the field and shine a light on those use cases, the IAB released its AR marketing playbook earlier this month.

In case you’re too busy to peruse the pdf, I’ll detail the major use cases outlined in the report.

Word of Mouth Remains Vital for Loyalty in Digital Age

Pundits have speculated that loyalty is becoming less and less important as mobile and especially voice search drive the consumer toward the most convenient purchasing options. That may be true, but the report indicates loyalty remains a powerful factor, with 53% of consumers saying they are more likely to buy from a retailer they know and trust.

Commentary

New Report Shows Urban SMBs Do Better with Agency Help

Street Fight’s new analysis, The Urban SMB Report, indicates that local business owners in big cities get better results from their digital marketing efforts by not doing it themselves. The more they outsource, either to internal staff or to an agency, the higher their satisfaction rating. But there is room for improvement.

Brand Battles in Depth: Looking at Starbucks vs. Dunkin’ Donuts

The series demonstrates the real complexity of cross-platform digital marketing and the importance of a data-driven strategy in identifying meaningful objectives and tracking performance. This commentary explains how Brand Battles are constructed and how their subject areas fits into the bigger picture of local marketing for national brands.

As Voice Search Gains Importance, So Does Schema Mark-up for SMB Sites

Like it or not, SMBs have become far more educated and sophisticated with regard to digital media, and are in a much better position to hold their providers accountable. As a result, providers now must look for ways to more cost effectively provide higher quality products.

Latest Posts

LBMA Podcast: CES Beacons, GM and Lyft, Reveal Mobile CEO

On the show: EyeLock & Diebold rename the ATM “Irving”; Screen commerce by Think&Go; Billy Bishop Airport DOOH’s the tunnel; Faking human stench to fight Dengue Fever; Emirates + Millennial Media; AT&T, Cisco, IBM, Intel and the city of IoT.

Street Fight Daily: Foursquare Gets a New CEO, How Apple’s iAd News Affects the Industry

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Foursquare CEO Steps Down as Valuation Plummets (Wall Street Journal)… What Apple’s iAd Changes Mean for the Industry (Digiday)… How Google’s Search Chief Has Been Living the “Mobile First” Life (Search Engine Land)…

Dealmakers: On-Demand and Deep-Linking Companies Born Under a Lucky Star

Two areas in the industry I see creating genuine value are in-app search, or “deep linking,” and on-demand tech. In both cases, the value these two segments of our industry bring is in the efficiencies they create. In other words, where and how they reduce friction in consumer transactions is where we will see 2016 investment and M&A activity.

Menu for Success at Brooklyn’s Corner Media: Food, Crime, Homes and History

The eight sites of Brooklyn’s Corner Media Group stretch from northwest to southeast in New York City’s most populous borough. We recently caught up with the network’s publisher Liena Zagare to talk about about her growing hyperlocal empire and the formula behind its success.

Street Fight Daily: The Trouble With “Uber for X” Companies, Apple Moves Away From Mobile Advertising

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… ‘Uber for X’ Will Fail in 2016, but Uber Will Continue to Thrive…Why? (Recode)… Apple Steps Back From Its iAd Advertising Business (BuzzFeed)… How Mobile Apps Stack Up Against Mobile Browsers (eMarketer)…

Vistaprint Launches Local Listings, Providing a Broader Service for SMBs

Vistaprint, which provides print and digital marketing products for small business owners, announced today that it is launching a presence management tool which SMBs can use to update information about their business on over 100 local directories.

How Can Local Merchants Ensure That Digital Searchers Know They’re Open?

Knowing your hours of operation is one of the first searches that customers undertake as they navigate their options when they look for things to do and places to go. Being available to potential customers means managing your store hours as a dynamic and scale-able data asset.

Street Fight Daily: How Google and Apple Dominate the Web, Self-Driving Lyfts Are Coming

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… The Web Giants Are Raising the Performance Bar on Everyone (ReadWrite)… GM to Launch Self-Driving Lyft Fleet in Austin, Texas (Mashable)… How Local Governments Are Using Technology to Serve Citizens Better (Harvard Business Review)…

How Brick-and-Mortar Merchants Can Win at Local Search

A battle is being waged online, as independent merchants struggle for top billing in local search results. We asked six experts in the local search industry for their best strategies for “winning” local search. Here’s what they said.

Ad Tech, Local Media and the 2016 Political Campaign

In this year’s presidential campaign, news and information consumers can be reached via a wide range of channels, and media buys can be executed in milliseconds. Now that local inventory has joined this channel, political camps have the ability to execute local campaigns on a massive scale.