News and Analysis
How Savvy Brands Are Getting Mobile Offers Into the Hands of Consumers
“For brick-and-mortar businesses, the focus on driving foot traffic through mobile couponing is even more important due to the convenience of online shopping. We see mobile coupon platforms becoming ubiquitous and affordable for even small businesses to create, design, and distribute their own coupons,” Katie Wilson, CEO of TapOnIt and a digital advertising veteran, tells our senior editor Stephanie Miles.
Urban Airship Acquires Accengage, Becomes World’s Largest Mobile Customer Engagement Company
Urban Airship, which serves Fortune 25 brands such as Adidas, BBC, and Vodafone, indicated that it would use the combined resources now at its disposal to expand the technical capabilities of its slate of mobile solutions. It will also take advantage of Accengage’s native expertise in the European market, particularly at a time when increased regulation on both sides of the Atlantic is underscoring the importance of strong policy and PR teams.
Google and Amazon Escalate Voice ‘Platform Wars’
Mike Boland: Any entity competing for local commerce—publishers, brands, ad-tech players—has a looming platform choice for voice. Like the platform wars between iOS and Android, it’s a matter of deciding where to apply finite resources and development muscle. Maybe the answer is “both” Google and Amazon. But for now, Google appears to have the lead.
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Transfernation Tackles Food Waste and Hunger with a Local, On-Demand Twist
In New York City each week, up to 1,000 lbs. of food is rescued from lavish events, office functions, and charity fundraisers. Instead of being discarded, the extra food finds its way to soup kitchens, homeless shelters, and other service organizations through Transfernation, a New York City-based nonprofit that’s at the forefront of the food rescue movement.
INFOGRAPHIC: The Complex SMB Marketing Ecosystem 2.0
As the head of digital strategy for a broadcaster operating local TV stations, Lorren Elkins has been challenged to clearly understand the digital marketing space from an SMB perspective. In response, he developed an interactive chart, now in its second iteration, to both enhance his own understanding and assist SMBs in identifying potential suppliers.
Street Fight Daily: Starbucks Tests Delivery, Pinterest Adds Location Info to Place Pins
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Starbucks Is Testing Coffee Delivery to Office Workers in the Empire State Building (Adweek)… Pinterest Will Automatically Add Venue Information to Place Pins (TechCrunch)… Postmates Expands API to Power Delivery for More Merchants (Forbes)…
Patch’s St. John: People Crave an Understanding of What’s Happening Right Around Them
“We have about just under 70 full-time salaried editors. Compared to the old Patch, which had a newsroom the size of the New York Times, that may sound small, but when I talk to other digital publishers and I tell them we’ve got 70 full-time salaried reporters in the field, that sounds like a lot to them. Our goal is to add more as we grow. As we get revenue, we put it immediately into expanding because we need to be national to really fully realize Patch’s potential,” said editor-in-chief Warren St. John.
Case Study: Reliability in New Scheduling Platform Helps Chicago Salon Maintain Buzz
Online scheduling platforms are supposed to save merchants time by automating client bookings, cancellations, reminders, and even payment collection. But when merchants stop trusting their own scheduling platforms, and start verifying individual bookings for accuracy, the benefits of online-only systems go out the window. For an exclusive Chicago salon, switching things up helped maintain buzz and business.
Street Fight Daily: Facebook’s New Retail Features, Local Mobile Ad Spend to Reach $6.5 Billion by 2019
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Facebook Woos Retailers and Shoppers Alike with New Features (Gigaom)… Mobile Spend by Local Advertisers Forecast to Hit $6.5B by 2019 (MediaPost)… Security, Data Breaches Slow Down Mobile Payments Adoption (eMarketer)…
LBMA Podcast: Walkbase and Samsung Team up for In-Store Analytics, Localistico Makes Location Easier for SMEs
On the show: Walkbase and Samsung team up for in-store analytics; Localistico makes location easier for SMEs; Amazon creates its own Uber for packages with “Flex;” Nescafé and Google partner for 360-degree virtual reality experience; Beacons for Good. Plus, news from Best Buy, Google, Foursquare and OpenTable, and Virgin and Netflix.
Street Culture: Signpost on Being a Scrappy Startup
When you’re fast-growing startup company, the most important thing is hiring the right people. That means people who can do the job, and also, in some cases, people who are willing to build desks, said Justin Donnarumma, director of sales at Signpost, a marketing automation technology company that launched in 2010. “That’s the kind of scrappiness we look for in new hires.”
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