News and Analysis

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.

Foursquare’s Location-Based Loyalty Metrics Point to Best Practices for Casual Restaurants

Brushing aside customer surveys and other imprecise measures of customer loyalty, location intelligence firm Foursquare released a location-based report this morning that evaluates best practices and practitioners in loyalty among casual restaurant chains. 

Most importantly for future considerations, the report suggests that brands can improve loyalty in all four of the areas that contributed to its index.

Report: Consumer Expectations for Brands Higher than Ever in Age of Convenience

With the omnichannel age upon us, the impact of bad customer experiences is unprecedented. The main fear for businesses should no longer be a standoff between the worker behind the customer service desk and the angry customer who failed to get his discount; it should be the rant that hits social and is shared or liked a slew of times, dragging digital reputations through the mud.

Commentary

Could the ‘Smart Home’ Be the Next Big Opportunity in Local?

We can now make a taxi, a pizza, or a plumber appear with nothing more than clicking a button or speaking a phrase. And convenience-hungry consumers not only want more, they’re expecting it. Smart home technology is now on deck to deliver on that expectation.

Survey: Many Opportunities to Connect Local Media With National-to-Local Marketers

National brands and retailers remain wedded to traditional media and marketing for their local branches, franchises, and resellers. However, they are increasing their spending on digital channels, and over half of them feel it’s important to associate their campaigns with local media and content.

Pokémon Go and Local: Why Now?

The lesson from the phenomenon isn’t for local tech companies to try and build the next Pokémon Go — but rather to build a similarly justifiable value exchange for sharing location. Advertisers and ad networks should likewise work with apps that have that higher likelihood of user opt-in.

Latest Posts

5 Tools for Display Ad Creation and Distribution

Programmatic-driven ad spend is expected to reach $14.2 billion worldwide this year. However, research by AppNexus indicates 97 percent of programmatic campaigns still lack targeted creative for individual audience segments. To satisfy this need, more hyperlocal vendors now are creating tools that businesses can use to generate targeted ad content without hiring their own in-house teams. Here are five tools for display ad creation and distribution.

Street Fight Daily: Google Gets Mobile Support from Facebook, Apple Maps Adds Foursquare Data

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Google Gets Surprise Ally in Mobile-App Search Push: Facebook (Wall Street Journal)… Foursquare Joins Apple Maps Data Sources as Company Builds Out Ecosystem (Search Engine Land)… Uber Is Creating a Ride-Sharing Mesh Network with Its New ‘Destinations’ Feature (The Next Web)…

Retail, Restaurants, and Roofers: Where Does On-Demand Work (and Not)?

A year into the on-demand revolution, the question persists: Where’s it going next? So far, it’s gone into nearly every local vertical, but there are still areas with the right conditions for on-demand models to take root, some of which remain underdeveloped. These include higher-end professional services like lawyers and doctors, project-based work like design and writing, and, of course, SMBs, especially when it comes to local marketing and advertising.

Report: Executive Survey on Hyperlocal Tech and Tactics

What’s on the mind of technology and marketing suppliers targeting the connected local economy? They’re keen on mobile — perhaps too keen — but struggling with their own companies’ brand awareness. The dichotomy between small businesses and national chains that sell locally is profound, and presents difficult challenges in scaling to support either, let alone both, according to Street Fight Insights analysis.

Street Fight Daily: Google Partners with HomeAdvisor, New Groupon CEO’s Vision

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Google Gets Deeper into Home Services (CNBC)… New Groupon CEO Says the Local Deals Pioneer Is Undervalued, Underestimated (GeekWire)… Foursquare Has Figured Out the Hottest Restaurants Around America Right Now (Tech Insider)…

LBMA Podcast: Starship Technologies Planning Fleet of Delivery Robots, MediaSignage Geotargets Moving Cars

On the show: Starship Technologies is planning a fleet of delivery robots; MediaSignage geotargets moving vehicles; LISNR raises $10 million; Amazon kills Amazon Local and Amazon Register. Plus, member news from Facebook; Walgreens; Apple; Google; SweetIQ; what3words + ESRI.

Raise Report: Jet, Swrve, ClassPass Lock Down 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 Jet, Swrve, and ClassPass.

6 Ways SMBs Can Take Better Advantage of Programmatic Ad Buying

Automated advertising solutions that simplify media buying seem like they would be right up the small business owner’s alley, however it’s still much more common for national marketers to utilize programmatic advertising than independent merchants. Here are six strategies that small and medium-sized businesses can use to take full advantage of programmatic buying.

Street Fight Daily: The Company Rejecting Offers from Amazon and Alibaba, Drizly’s Expansion Plans

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Amazon and Alibaba Have Approached Five-Year-Old Startup Wish, But the CEO Seems to Want More (Business Insider)… Alcohol Delivery Startup Drizly Has Global Expansion Plans for 2016 (Boston Business Journal)… Shopify’s New App Sello Allows Anyone to Create An Online Store from Their Phone (TechCrunch)…

Realtors Can Recommend Their Favorite Local Businesses Using HomeKeepr

The days of homeowners looking up a local painter or handyman in the Yellow Pages are gone. Instead, consumers are turning to review sites like Angie’s List to find the right person for the job. HomeKeepr takes a different approach. “Rather than crowdsourcing lots of reviews from strangers, we source recommendations from ‘local experts:’ real estate agents,” said co-founder and CEO Rob Morelli.