News and Analysis

6 Next-Gen Review Marketing Platforms for Retail Brands

Determined not to fall even further behind their online-only competitors, retailers are investing more heavily in a new breed of review platform. These next-generation solutions integrate written reviews with pictures and videos to create more cohesive omni-channel shopping experiences. Here are six next-gen review platforms that brands are using right now.

In Test of On-Demand Economy’s Durability, Postmates Files to Go Public

There’s nothing more hyperlocal than the on-demand class of startups, which feed off the everyday use cases spurred by a mobile-first world: whipping one’s phone out to order food from a local restaurant (Postmates, GrubHub, DoorDash), hail a ride (Uber and Lyft), or cut out a trip to the grocery store (Instacart, Shipt). Postmates’ founding ingenuity was to apply the convenience of ride-sharing to product delivery. Eight years later, it’s a food-delivery powerhouse, and its value may strike nearly $2 billion.

What Is 5G? Some Facts and Marketing Implications

As the next generation in mobile connectivity, 5G should promise smoother data transmission, higher-quality mobile streaming, and more efficient energy usage. And it’s those benefits consumers are excited about, newly available data from Verizon Media indicates, with 72% of surveyed consumers excited about faster data transfer speeds and 57% eager for higher-definition video content. But industry watchdogs are skeptical.

Commentary

Is Apple Quietly Assembling an SMB Trojan Horse?

Apple is co-promoting Square’s NFC reader for SMBs. and selling the readers in Apple Stores. The $49 reader accepts Apple Pay, which significantly lowers the barrier for SMBs to get in the game. The move should boost Apple Pay, but there also may be much bigger ambitions to lock in market share in new areas.

How the SMB/Local Advertising Community Can Avoid ‘Bad Ads’

Google’s recent “Better Ads” report demonstrates that while digital is a great channel for reaching consumers, a positive experience is perhaps the most crucial component of a successful ad campaign, especially for advertisers using programmatic to buy and serve their ads.

Understanding the Context of Local Advertising’s Supply and Demand

The current election cycle, if nothing else, has demonstrated the importance of context in the supply and demand of local media. In this type of market, the early bird gets the worm. Consumer brands are learning this lesson the hard way and getting shut out of local opportunities that otherwise might have been available.

Latest Posts

Street Fight Daily: AOL Buys Millennial Media, Facebook Serves As Forum to Buy and Sell Goods

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… AOL Buys Mobile Marketer Millennial Media for Roughly $240 Million (Marketing Land)… Facebook Advances Bazaar Ambitions (Wall Street Journal)… A New App With 2 Million Users Just Raised $100 Million to Take On eBay (Fortune)…

Wigo CEO: ‘The College Market Is a Beautiful Place to Start Something’

The college meetup app, which boasted a valuation of $14 million earlier this year, capitalizes on the ubiquity of smartphones among students as well as that group’s propensity to party — aiming to put students looking for a night out in touch with each other.

On 2nd Birthday, Fast-Growing ‘Indie’ San Angelo Live Clicks Its Spurs

Joe Hyde, founder and publisher of San Angelo Live, is seeing his independent community news site in West Texas hit $60,000 in monthly ad revenue. And on its second anniversary, the site continues to attract more unique visitors than the site of its 131-year-old “legacy” competitor.

Street Fight Daily: Google Maps Now Suggests Restaurants, Lyft’s New Carpooling Feature

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Google Maps for Android Update Makes It Easier to Choose a Restaurant (The Next Web)… Lyft Line’s Express Re-Route Feature Aims to Get You Where You’re Going Faster (TechCrunch)… Sharing Economy Goes Hyperlocal With a Growing Market for Household Items (New York Times)…

Why ‘On-Demand’ Alone Isn’t Enough to Make a Viable Business

Success in this market doesn’t come from betting that millions of consumers will change their purchase behaviors. Success in the on-demand economy employs a simple, time-tested formula: taking an existing service — one that a lot of people use — and making it better.

5 On-Demand Platforms for Medical Marijuana Delivery

Up until now, one of the major pain points in medical marijuana consumption has been access. But on-demand platforms can keep delivery times down and safety up. Here are five examples of companies offering on-demand medical marijuana delivery.

Street Fight Daily: DoorDash Partners With 7-Eleven, How Instagram’s Latest Update Affects Advertising

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Delivery Startup DoorDash Is Promising to Send 7-Eleven Food and Drinks to Your Home in 45 Minutes or Less (Business Insider)… New, Stretched-Out Instagram Means More Ads (Mashable)… As Giant Platforms Rise, Local News is Getting Crushed (Nieman Lab)…

Will Mobile Search Dethrone Google?

Why would Google’s market leadership be vulnerable to mobile search incursion? Innovation in search can occur at the user experience level, the core indexing and ranking algorithms, and the business model and ecosystem that supports search. Each of these faces potential mobile disruption.

6 Ways Local Merchants Can Compete in Organic Search Results

Type in a generic search term for nearly any local service and you’re likely to see listings for national brands and retail chains. Local businesses have largely been pushed out of the first page. So local merchants have to make a change in their SEO strategies.

Street Fight Daily: Yahoo’s ReachLocal Partnership, Amazon Wants to Deliver From Farmers Markets

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Yahoo Follows Google in Building Out Local Search Marketing Reseller Program (Search Engine Land)… Amazon Is Testing Farmers Market Produce Delivery (Los Angeles Times)… Google Reportedly Kills Plan to Let Retailers Send Notifications in Maps (The Verge)…