News and Analysis

Google’s Soft-Power Approach to Super Bowl Ads

Share this:

When it came to the Super Bowl, Google opted not to put the spotlight on flashy new products but rather to emphasize the good it can do for the world at a time when it’s “don’t be evil” slogan of yore has become prime material for parody. During the big game, ads for products as seemingly disparate as Pringles, tax software, and beer pointed to a present haunted by tech’s infiltration of domestic life and machines’ superiority to humans.

Brandify, PlaceIQ, Simpli.fi Among 2019 LSA Ad-to-Action Award Finalists

Share this:

The Local Search Association announced this week a slate of 20 finalists for its annual awards celebrating the best in local and online-to-offline marketing. Among more than 80 submissions, the finalists have been recognized for their outstanding work in such categories as reputation management, SMB software, and local search.

While Sales Growth Rate Slows, Amazon Marketplace, Cloud, and Ad Businesses Point to Long-Term Prosperity

Share this:

For brands hoping to compete with Amazon (and potentially looking on with relief at a sign of fallibility from their digital rival), the company’s earnings report brings the news that Amazon Marketplace, where third-party sellers can reach customers, is doing more than twice as much in sales as Amazon’s first-party retail platform. Marketplace is troubled by bad practices and fake reviews, and its prosperity suggests the growing challenge for brands to get customers to even go to their sites at a time when Amazon is essentially the homepage of the commerce-oriented Internet.

Commentary

Scaling the Neighborhood: A Community Focus for Local Services

Share this:

So far, digital services, even those focused on local, have done more to atomize local communities than unite them, training us to rely on anonymous resources for the information and recommendations we used to get from our friends and neighbors.

Survey: Some National-to-Local Marketers Still Need Convincing on Digital Effectiveness

Share this:

Street Fight surveyed over 200 managers and decision makers at big companies in retail, financial services, and other industries. We asked them about spending patterns, perceived effectiveness, pain points, etc., around their local marketing and advertising efforts.

Sussing Out Google’s Master Plan in the Post-App Era

Share this:

Google’s counter-attack to the world of apps can be seen in several places. In fact most Google moves are to drive mobile behavior through its front door. This principle underpinned nearly every announcement at Google I/O.

Latest Posts

Constant Contact CEO Touts ‘Distribution Benefits’ After $1.1 Billion Acquisition by Endurance

Share this:

Endurance International Group, which operates a stable of small business-oriented services, has acquired email marketing giant Constant Contact, in a transaction valued at $1.1. billion. Constant Contact will become the largest brand under the Endurance umbrella. “It’s taking our mission further by getting broader distribution. That’s the number-one rationale for the acquisition,” said Constant Contact CEO Gail Goodman.

Street Fight Daily: Google’s Drones to Hit Skies by 2017, Apple’s New Indoor Mapping App

Share this:

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Google Plans to Deliver Packages with Drones by 2017 (Business Insider)… Apple’s ‘Indoor Survey’ App Maps Venues Using Radio Frequencies (The Next Web)… Amazon to Open First Brick-and-Mortar Bookstore (Wall Street Journal)…

#SFSNYC VIDEO: Booker CEO on the Tricky Process of Expanding into New Local Verticals

Share this:

Booker CEO Josh McCarter opened his Street Fight Summit keynote address with a question that’s on the minds of many small business solutions providers: “How do you take a system that’s designed for one vertical and take it across more categories?” Factoring in the differing needs of various service-based businesses makes that question even more complex. But given the size of what McCarter termed the “local service commerce” opportunity, answering it could be tremendously lucrative.

How Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Uses Quality Journalism to Pay the Bills

Share this:

Like other dailies, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has taken big hits in advertising and distribution revenue on the print side, but it’s still profitable. To find out how the Journal Sentinel uses quality journalism to stay in the black, Street Fight spoke with editor and senior vice president George Stanley.

#SFSNYC VIDEO: How the World’s Largest Advertiser, P&G, Targets Consumers on a Local Level

Share this:

In a wide-ranging Street Fight Summit fireside chat, Ajay Kapoor, who oversees global business solutions for Procter & Gamble, covered everything from the wealth of market research sources P&G has at its disposal to channel marketing strategies to on-the-ground local initiatives in emerging markets like India.

Street Fight Daily: Amazon Kills Its Groupon and Square Competitors, the Rise of Hypertargeted Ads

Share this:

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Amazon Kills Two Businesses: Local Daily Deals and Its Square Competitor (Recode)… The $21.8 Billion Reason Ultra-Personal Online Ads Are Coming (Fast Company)… Pondering Homejoy’s Failure (Medium)…

LBMA Podcast: Google Unveils Shopping Insights, Uniqlo Monitors Shoppers’ Brainwaves with UMood

Share this:

On the show: Google unveils Shopping Insights tool; Uniqlo’s UMood monitors shoppers’ brainwaves to help them pick the perfect t-shirt; Zikit’s “Now or Never” coupons; paying with sounds; Short Edition short story vending machine; Unmapped; Pixie tags; GPS-based metering in New York City. Plus, news from UNICEF and Target; and MapQuest.

#SFSNYC VIDEO: Where Are Today’s Billion-Dollar Local Opportunities?

Share this:

In a panel at the annual Street Fight Summit, two experienced venture capitalists active in the local space shared their outlook on funding trends, pitches they frequently hear, and the growing internationalization of startup culture.

Raise Report: Gobble, Bownty, and Clutter Post Strong Series A Rounds

Share this:

Every two weeks we round up some of the biggest fundraises taking place in hyperlocal marketing, commerce, and tech. In this edition, new investments include rounds for Gobble, Bownty, and Clutter.

Street Fight Daily: Facebook’s ‘Local Market’ Feature, Google Tries Foursquare Tips for Google Now

Share this:

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Facebook Is Testing a New Feature That Makes It More Like Craigslist (Business Insider)… Google Is Testing Foursquare Tips in Google Now, Even When the App Isn’t Installed (VentureBeat)… Amazon Launches ‘Pay with Amazon’ Buttons for Mobile Apps (Recode)…