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.
Commentary
In 2016, the Local Economy Is No Longer Local
Yes, we still shop at local stores, but the Walmart in the nearby shopping plaza isn’t the only competitor the local store needs to keep an eye on. Increasingly, it’s a host of online vendors and the growing crop of on-demand startups that have become an indelible feature of the local business landscape — both enablers and usurpers of their merchant partners.
Street Fight’s Predictions for 2016: Part Two
With 2015 drawing to a close, it’s time again to look ahead to what we can expect in the hyperlocal space in 2016. We asked Street Fight staffers and weekly columnists what they thought would be the biggest story (or stories) in local in 2016. We ran the first installment yesterday — now here are the rest.
Street Fight’s Predictions for 2016: Part One
With 2015 drawing to a close, it’s time again to look ahead to what we can expect in the hyperlocal space in 2016. We asked Street Fight staffers and weekly columnists what they thought would be the biggest story (or stories) in local in 2016. We’ll be running their outlooks in two installments, the first today and the second tomorrow.
Latest Posts
Mapsense CEO: The Rise of On-demand, Location-based Apps Is a ‘Huge’ Opportunity
Smartphone users are familiar with consumer-facing map services such as Google Maps, which consistently ranks among the most frequently used apps. But companies depending on maps are far more numerous than map services apps. Countless mobile apps that use location services such as delivery-oriented Instacart and transportation-oriented Uber rely on mapping software, and still more […]
Revived Daily Voice Expands Into North Jersey With 22 New Sites
Pushed to near death two-and-a-half years ago by heavy losses, regional community news network Daily Voice has resurrected itself, expanding in suburban Connecticut and New York State — and now the network is about to cross the Hudson River into northern New Jersey.
Street Fight Daily: Google Introduces New Parent Company, Amazon Launchpad’s Challenges
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Meet Alphabet, The New Conglomerate Absorbing Google (Marketing Land)… Amazon’s Next Big Challenge: Getting You to Buy Stuff You Didn’t Know You Wanted (Recode)… Startups Vie to Build an Uber for Health Care (Wall Street Journal)…
Street Fight Launches ‘Local Visionary Awards’ to Honor the Industry’s Best and Brightest
For four-and-a-half years, Street Fight has been the go-to resource for people working in local media, marketing, commerce and tech. Building on that history, today we are launching a 10-category competition designed to honor the very best campaigns and ideas in local.
6 Reasons Why Beacon Programs Fail
Beacons have been heralded as the future of retail, with 85% of retailers expected to use the technology by 2016. But getting a successful proximity-marketing program off the ground involves more than just setting out a few digital devices. Here are few common pitfalls and tips on how to avoid them.
Mono CEO: In Local Marketing, U.S. Is Maybe 5 Years Ahead of Europe
Since its founding in 2007, Mono Solutions has been giving SMBs a complete package — from website building, to helping with online visibility, to engaging with customers, to doing business online. We recently caught up with the company’s CEO, Louise Lachmann, to talk about how she sees the local industry evolving.
Street Fight Daily: Crowley on Foursquare’s Future, Google Still Working on Same-Day Delivery
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Groupon Reports Profit but Still Falls Short of Expectations (Wall Street Journal)… Google Puts Exec Behind ‘Buy Button’ in Charge of Express Delivery Service (Recode)… Understanding The Future Of Mobility (TechCrunch)…
Street Culture: Flexibility Helps WeddingWire as It Scales Up
At WeddingWire, an online marketplace serving the wedding and events industry, its expanding employee base is providing new opportunities to fine-tune company policies, according to the company’s vice president of people, Jenny Harding.
Raise Report: Radius, Shopkeep, Stripe Rake in Big 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 Twilio, Yozio, and Little.
LBMA Podcast: Beacons, WeChat and Proximity Messaging with NOD,
On the show: Visor let’s you see what’s happening around the globe; Michigan University opens up MCity to test driverless cars; Beacons + WeChat test from Chow Tai Fook brings in $16M; Hipcamp’s landsharing services. Member news from Canadian Tire, Placed and Wendy’s.
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Meta Is Automating Ads, But Brands Still Face a Bigger Problem