News and Analysis
Local Search Association Announces New President, Bill Dinan
The Local Search Association, which brings together over 300 companies intent on connecting enterprises and small businesses alike with consumers, announced on Wednesday morning Bill Dinan as its new president. The announcement follows the retirement of its previous president Neg Norton, who held the role for 15 years.
Latest Posts
#SFSNYC Recap: 5 Key Takeaways from This Year’s Summit
The annual Street Fight Summit assembled more than 350 marketers, solutions providers, technologists, and media executives to discuss pressing issues and developments in the connected local economy. Here are five key takeaways from the day’s keynotes, panel discussions, and fireside chats.
Street Culture: Humility and Good Conversations at Instacart
On-demand grocery shopping and delivery service Instacart is make headway at disrupting a multi-billion-dollar industry. Driving that effort is a relentless focus on satisfying customers. “One policy we’ve implemented at Instacart is that every employee, from the engineers up to our CEO, goes out shopping once a quarter to get an understanding of being a shopper and how our service affects the customer. Everybody here does it,” says vice president of people Mathew Caldwell.
Openings and New Hires at Thumbtack, Polar, and Yodle
Every two weeks, Geoff Michener covers some of the latest job changes taking place in this dynamic industry. In this week’s column, Bing loses Duane Forrester, senior product manager in charge of webmaster outreach, newly minted unicorn Thumbtack appoints a CFO and general counsel, Polar hires a Googler as president of international, and Yodle brings on a president for its Brand Networks business.
LBMA Podcast: Pinterest Adds Location to Every Place Pin, Niantic Labs Raises $20M
On the show: Pinterest Place Pins to add automatic location data; Niantic Labs raises $20 million from Google, Pokémon, and Nintendo; Australia’s Westfield malls and CommBank team up for beacon play; Drinkeasy SMS craft spirits delivery service; Onomichi map provides “cat’s-eye view;” MoveLoot does the heavy lifting; RetailNext acquires Pikato. Plus, news from Shoe Carnival and SIM Partners; Tostitos Canada; and Gimbal and Phigital.
Sponsored Content: Hyperlocal Strategy Updates Needed for Two National Drug Store Chains
This month’s Brand Battle, in conjunction with Brandify, compares the local digital marketing footprint of two of the country’s largest pharmacy chains: CVS and Walgreens. The contest was close on several counts, but Walgreens emerged as the winner, edging CVS in five of the six categories evaluated.
5 Programmatic Ad Buying Platforms for SMBs
Programmatic buying has a reputation for being geared toward large-scale advertisers buying high volumes of impressions. But more vendors are developing programmatic solutions aimed directly at the SMB market. Here are five platforms that give smaller advertisers the ability to plan, buy, and target digital ads in real-time.



















































Authentic Storytelling: Real-Life Scenarios Showcase Brand Values and Build Trust