News and Analysis
Brands Push Forward with Automation, But Privacy and Creepiness Concerns Remain
“Marketing automation is all the rage. Everyone feels like they need to ‘do it’ or they’ll be left behind. That rush to do the latest ‘new thing’ without thoughtful planning often leads to failure,” says Winston Lord, co-founder of Venga, a guest management platform that uses automation to enhance customer experiences. “It’s critical to build a 360 degree view of your client and your strategy before implementing marketing automation.”
Programmatic OOH Is Real. Why Isn’t Your Agency Using It More?
The ad tech industry’s state of flux and disarray spurs confusion and buyer skepticism of real innovation. This is particularly prevalent in rapidly evolving areas like programmatic that also contend with existing legacy trust issues. I come across this every day, as there seems to be a persistent rumor that programmatic Out of Home (OOH) is “fake,” and that, when looking under the hood, programmatic OOH is merely an automated process for reserving and purchasing inventory. This misconception results in missed opportunities for marketers.
Factual Partners with Airship and Braze to Power Location-Based Mobile Marketing
The partnership will enhance Airship and Braze’s efforts to furnish clients with precise mobile messaging based on the location of the customers they want to reach. Airship and Braze help brands engage their customers, retaining their business and ideally driving them back in-store. Airship rebranded, dropping the Urban from its name, last month.
Commentary
Why Data Attributes Power the Long Tail of Local Search
The mandate for brands is simple: manage data attributes as a crucial element of your location marketing strategy. But it’s not enough to create attributes. You need to constantly monitor the ever-changing nature of your business and your customers and be ready to act on your attributes as needed.
xAd Foot Traffic Data Reveals QSR Trends, Maps Audience Segmentation Opportunities
At a high level, the report, based on 37 million visits xAd observed on its platform from April 1 to June 30, gives us the inside track on which brands have been the most successful in driving foot traffic to their premises — and which brands have a way to go.
Maps.me Offers Open Source Alternative to Google and Apple Maps
I’m impressed by the level of detail and by some key differentiators that make Maps.me seem like a fresh approach to mobile navigation. Indeed, I can see the app eventually finding favor in the U.S. marketplace. Even before that happens, local marketers should take note.
Latest Posts
Street Fight Daily: Pinterest Prioritizes Search Advertising, Facebook’s Quiet New Yelp Competitor
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Pinterest Narrows Ad Focus to Match Users’ Interest (Wall Street Journal)… Is ‘Facebook Professional Services’ Facebook’s Stealth Project to Beat Yelp? (Search Engine Land)… Storefront Fills a Growing Market for Short-Term Retail Spaces (Street Fight)…
Get Ready: Holiday Returns Season Set to Begin
During the holiday season, we focus so much attention on when people buy, how much they spend, and whether it got there on time that we tend to overlook what happens once gifts are purchased. An equal test for retailers — both online and brick-and-click — will be making returns as easy as the purchase itself.
Case Study: Children’s Center Uses Scheduling Platform to Streamline Administrative, Marketing Tasks
Almost half of small business owners say they’re being overrun by basic administrative tasks. When Roo’s World of Discovery owner Michelle Pollak Landwehr found herself in that same position, spending hours each week on basic administrative tasks like tracking member visits, scheduling classes, and managing recurring payments at her Washington-based children’s indoor play space, she began looking for digital solutions.
Street Fight Daily: Yahoo’s Search App Gets a Big Update, Postmates Moves Further into Commerce
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Yahoo Search App for iPhone Gets a Bit More ‘Now’ with Personalized Content (Search Engine Land)… Postmates Digs into Commerce with Curated ’12 Days of Postmates’ Campaign (TechCrunch)… Procter & Gamble’s New Strategy Shows Agencies Still Needed for Programmatic (Digiday)…
LBMA Podcast: UberMedia Introduces LROI Concept, Soundpays Launches Mobile Wallet in Canada
On the show: UberMedia introduces LROI concept; Soundpays launches mobile wallet in Canada; Mobify Buys Dónde; bfonics launches Wi-Fi beacon; racist tweets on billboards in Brazil; Tyrers Department Store tests “Digital Clothing Rail.” Plus, news from Aruba Networks; Domino’s; Placemeter; Krispy Kreme and NCR; and Blue Bite and Rouge Media.
Raise Report: Netsertive, EatStreet, Factual Secure New Funding
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 Netsertive, EatStreet, and Factual.
The Power of Pairing: 4 Reasons Matching Is Gaining Traction in Local Home Services
When variables such as trust, uncertainty, availability, and geography are at the core of decision-making — as they so often are when it comes to hiring professionals to perform home services — matching, especially when coupled with ratings and reviews, offers consumers peace of mind. It also provides an immediate connection in an often urgent and sometimes complicated time of need.
Street Fight Daily: Twitter Will Show Ads to ‘Casual Viewers,’ Location Startup Factual Raises $35M
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Twitter Aims to Show Advertising to Much Wider Audience (New York Times)… Startup Factual Knows Your Commute, and Much More (Wall Street Journal)… Billy Penn and Knight Foundation Want to Build ‘Yelp for Mobile News’ (Poynter)…
6 Ways Local Merchants Can Use Rewards to Bring in Holiday Shoppers
Consumers are expected to spend $630.5 billion this holiday shopping season. Local merchants are fighting tooth and nail to take back a larger share of that revenue from their ecommerce competitors. Here’s what industry leaders said about the types of incentives that work best for encouraging shoppers to make holiday purchases at local retail businesses instead of big-box stores or ecommerce sites.
Why Location Management Matters in the Age of Mobile and Social
If SEO is about websites and marketing is about brand awareness, location management is about brick-and-mortar businesses and removing friction along the customer journey from online search to offline purchase. Ignore it at your peril.
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Meta Is Automating Ads, But Brands Still Face a Bigger Problem