News and Analysis
Does Influencer Marketing Have a Transparency Problem?
Although the average share of budgets spent on influencer marketing is just 10%, that figure is growing as visual platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, and Pinterest see explosive growth.
The problem? Brands are often focusing on misleading vanity metrics in an attempt to justify those investments. For example, many marketers track follower counts as a primary indicator for determining brand and influencer partnerships. Growing evidence shows that follower counts do not equate to true impressions or reach data, giving brands a false sense of how their campaigns are performing.
As AI Adoption Accelerates, Brands Search for Competitive Edge
In Gartner’s 2019 CIO Survey, which included more than 3,000 CIOs from 89 countries, AI technology was ranked as the technology most likely to be disruptive. Despite their enthusiasm for AI, CIOs showed a lack of certainty over the best way to implement the technology and get their newest marketing strategies off the ground.
That uncertainty has the potential to negatively impact brands’ bottom lines, and it’s an issue that industry insiders like Cerebri AI co-founder Jean Belanger are working to combat.
Zenreach Attract Connects Online Ads to In-Store Results
Online metrics, like click-through rates and return-on-ad-spend, can quickly show ecommerce retailers how well their digital advertising campaigns are working. But what happens in the real world? The KPIs used in ecommerce mean almost nothing to brick-and-mortar merchants. In fact, digital approximations can actually cause merchants with physical locations to overspend on certain audience segments, while undervaluing others.
That’s something Zenreach is trying to change.
Commentary
Is Apple’s Encroachment on Local Finally Ready for Prime Time?
“I see [Apple’s] messaging platform as the third leg of mobile (joining the web and apps) that we need in place for the transition to non-traditional interfaces like voice,” Mike Blumenthal tells David Mihm. “Apple is building out a stable of ‘body’ computers with the Watch and now the AirPods that can provide an interface to the web.”
How Old-School Tactics From Emerging Economies Can Inform Local Marketing
There is tremendous insight in old-school marketing tactics about to how to strengthen local digital strategies through offline expertise. Here are a few tips from a few ever-impressive emerging markets.
How Apple’s iOS 10 Enables Location Marketing On-Demand
The company unleashed a slew of features with iOS 10, such as the ability to transcribe phone messages automatically. Three features in particular give businesses a glimpse at how the customer journey continues to increase in velocity.
Latest Posts
Street Fight’s Predictions for 2016: Part One
With 2015 drawing to a close, it’s time again to look ahead to what we can expect in the hyperlocal space in 2016. We asked Street Fight staffers and weekly columnists what they thought would be the biggest story (or stories) in local in 2016. We’ll be running their outlooks in two installments, the first today and the second tomorrow.
Rating Street Fight’s 2015 Predictions
At the end of each year, Street Fight invites staffers, friends, and luminaries from the industry to share their predictions for what’s in store for the coming year. Today, we take a look back at some of the predictions for 2015 to see who was on target and who missed the mark.
Street Fight Hyperlocal Analyst Predictions for 2016
With 2015 drawing to a close, it’s time again to look ahead to what we can expect in the hyperlocal space in 2016. This year, we did things a little differently. We invited our regular analyst contributors to 1) weigh in on what they felt would be a “sure thing” in the coming year, 2) offer a prediction on something that might get big (but might not happen), and 3) identify something that hyperlocal marketers and merchants really don’t need to worry about. This is the first of several predictions pieces we will feature this week.
10 Ways Retailers Can Create Awareness of In-Store Mobile Channels
Consumers increasingly prefer to communicate with businesses through their smartphones rather than face-to-face, even while they’re shopping in-store. Retailers have reacted to this shift by investing in beacons and mobile apps. But many are finding that use of these technologies is low because consumers don’t realize they exist. To understand how merchants should go about building these relationships and creating awareness of their mobile channels, we spoke with seven industry experts.
LBMA Podcast: WayRay’s Holographic Navigation System, Samsung Makes Holiday Piano Out of Tablets
On the show: WayRay launches the world’s first holographic navigation system; Samsung fashions a holiday piano out of 112 tablets; Membo — the Yik Yak for local discovery; Moz partners with NavAds BV; Netflix socks turn your TV off if you fall asleep. Plus, news from Factual; Mondelez; Facebook and Uber; JCPenney; and Best Buy.
Street Fight Daily: Why Groupon Should Go Private, the Evolution and Future of Google Now
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Why Groupon Needs to Go Private to Rebuild Its Vision (TechCrunch)… In 2015, Google’s Personal Assistant Broke Out of Its Shell. Now It Has to Fight (Recode)… Relcy Founder Says He’s Built a Better Mobile Search Engine (Search Engine Land)…
Company Culture Priorities for 2016
In the Street Culture column we launched in 2015, Street Fight began looking more closely at the clever, fun, and smart ways startups in the hyperlocal industry are building culture into their organizations as they scale. No two companies we spoke with were the same, but many are driving their cultures along the same tracks. Based on our interviews, here are the top four culture-focused priorities for startups to address in 2016.
Street Fight Daily: Bing, Yahoo Take Bite of Google’s Search Share, Native Ads Get FTC Guidelines
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Microsoft and Yahoo Search Share Grows, Still Trails Google by Miles (Ad Age)… The FTC Is Cracking Down on Native Advertising (Fortune)… A Former Topsy Employee Has an Interesting Theory on Why Apple Shut Down This $200 Million Acquisition (Business Insider)…
5 Keys to Small Business Success in 2016
It’s no longer enough to just have a Facebook page or a website that’s optimized for mobile. To stand out in an increasingly competitive marketplace in 2016, local merchants will need to dig in and start using hyperlocal technology to its full potential.
Top 5 Exits in Local Tech of 2015
The local technology space saw plenty of M&A activity in 2015 and remains poised for another busy year in 2016. Rampant expansion of certain areas such as on-demand services and delivery apps makes further consolidation likely. The startup scene saw its share of healthy — if not billion-dollar — exits as well. Here’s a recap of the five of the biggest exits in the local tech industry in 2015.
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Meta Is Automating Ads, But Brands Still Face a Bigger Problem