News and Analysis
Williams-Sonoma Sues Amazon, Underscoring War Over E-Commerce Monopolization
Foreshadowing a battle over Amazon’s overwhelming control of e-commerce, Williams-Sonoma filed a lawsuit against Amazon in the final days of 2018, charging that the retail juggernaut used its market power to copy the furniture maker’s products and squeeze it out of the market.
Facebook to Integrate Technical Infrastructure of WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger
While the move indeed indicates that Facebook’s chief executives are looking to centralize acquired properties that once operated with relative autonomy, the integration also marks a response to growing concerns over user privacy. Under this new technical configuration, all the messaging platforms will be endowed with end-to-end encryption, warding off the possibility that people other than those taking part in conversations will ever read messages sent on the platforms.
How 6 Brands Are Using AR to Drive Experience Marketing
Worldwide spending on AR is expected to reach $215 billion by 2021, as new hardware ships and AR moves further into the mainstream. Acceleration in the AR market is also being boosted by brands’ growing frustration over the limitations in display advertising. With AR, brands can bypass ad blockers and unleash their creativity in a bid to capture the attention of consumers. Let’s take a look at how six top brands are using AR for experience marketing right now.
Commentary
4 Ways That Retailers Can Gain Traction on Mobile
As retailers continue to reimagine marketing to consumers using mobile, the tools to do so will evolve as well. Similar to marketing automation for B2B, retailer-focused solutions providers are enriching their platforms so that retailers can deliver marketing messages and offers to highly segmented consumers.
5 Timeless Sales Practices for Vendors Who Sell to SMBs
The devil is in the details: the tone of a subject line, timing of a phone call, recency of the point of contact, marketing cadence, and value proposition positioning — all impact sales. Yet many conversations tend to forget these basics and focus instead on new-age, shiny fixes.
How the Tech Emerging From CES Could Impact Local Advertisers
While some of the consumer-facing products that made headlines won’t hit store shelves for months, there was plenty to learn from the show for anyone involved in media, software, content, and design. Here’s a look at how some of these technologies could impact advertising planning and creation right now.
Latest Posts
Street Fight Daily: Amazon Tests Restaurant Deliveries, Etsy Highlights Local SMBs
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Amazon Is Quietly Testing a Plan to Take On GrubHub (Business Insider)… Etsy’s Updated Mobile App Lets You Locate Local Artisans (The Next Web)… Lyft Kills Off HotSpots as Uber Launches Copycat ‘Smart Routes’ Service (Recode)…
Moasis Debuts New Ad Platform, Seeks to Connect With Consumers’ Context
Today the company is debuting Moasis for Advertisers, which promises a one-stop shop for collecting and predictively analyzing valuable location-related data like weather, nearby events, and traffic. “Programmatic and mobile are virtually synonymous today,” said Moasis CMO Eric Nielsen.
Facebook’s Ad Platform for SMBs Has Come a Long Way, But Still Has Room to Grow
More and more local businesses are turning to Facebook to launch hyperlocal ad campaigns. And for good reason — the company has greatly enhanced its SMB ad offerings in the past year. As a relatively young ad medium, though, Facebook hasn’t really mastered the game yet.
Street Fight Daily: Yelp CEO on Google’s ‘Search Monopoly,’ In-Depth Look at Jet
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Google Goes After the App Interstitial: Protecting Consumers or Its Own Search Monopoly? (Search Engine Land)… Investors Have Poured More Than $220 Million Into This Man’s Plan to Beat Amazon (Business Insider)… Uber is Laying the Groundwork for Perpetual Rides in San Francisco (BuzzFeed)…
INFOGRAPHIC: The Complex SMB Marketing Ecosystem
As the head of digital strategy for a broadcaster operating local TV stations, I’ve been challenged to clearly understand the digital marketing space from an SMB perspective. So I’ve developed a chart, both to enhance my understanding and to assist SMBs in identifying potential suppliers.
‘Indie’ Times of San Diego Marches Northward With Twin Site in Metro L.A.
Digital media vet Chris Jennewein left Patch after the Aol sale, and returned to San Diego to launch the independent Times of San Diego. He is now a direct competitor to the Union-Tribune, and has started a twin regional site called MyNewsLa.com.
Street Fight Daily: Why Uber Won’t Go Public For More Than a Year, The Disappointment of Zulily
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Why Uber Is Waiting to IPO (Inc.)… The Largest E-Commerce Acquisition Ever Is Actually a Disappointment (Recode)… In-Store Personalized Digital Display Pushes Purchases (eMarketer)…
Why Social Recommendations Are Vital for Local Online Marketplaces
There can be little disagreement that building a word-of-mouth platform is difficult. But if social recommendations are the gold standard, why should we expect users to pick solutions that provide the convenience of scheduling and booking but lack the trust of word-of-mouth?
Raise Report: Massdrop, Mogl, Kik, Zocdoc Score Robust Rounds
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 big votes of confidence for Revel Systems, Massdrop, and Peach.
Street Fight Daily: Uber Nears $2B in Revenue, Twitter Ads Get More Reach
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology…… Leaked Doc: Uber Nears $2 Billion in Revenue, Expects IPO in 18-24 Months (Recode)… Twitter Gives Promoted Tweets and Video Ads More Mobile Reach (AdWeek)… Facebook Has Taken Over From Google as a Traffic Source for News (Fortune)…
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Meta Is Automating Ads, But Brands Still Face a Bigger Problem