News and Analysis

Uberflip Empowers Companies to Personalize Their Content

When it comes to marketing, content is king. But how can marketers make sure that content they post on their blogs ends up in front of the right people—and eventually leads to a sale? Uberflip believes it has an AI-based solution: a recommendation engine.

5 Mobile Video Vendors for Brand Advertisers

Mobile video is one of the hottest ad channels on the market. Understanding the importance of a strong CTA in video ad campaigns, we’ve put together this list of five mobile video vendors, each with its own interactive capabilities designed to elicit high engagement and response rates.

Raise Report: Placer.ai, Leap, LoopMe Secure New Funding

Every two or three weeks, we round up some of the biggest fundraises taking place in hyperlocal marketing, commerce, and tech. This week’s report includes funding for HeadSpin, Mavrck, Entertainment Data Oracle, and ZypMedia.

Commentary

Labor Issues Aren’t the Only Hazard in Uber’s Business Model

Uber-for-X innovators and investors be warned: several elements of Uber’s market inoculated it against three hazards associated with the single service model: Trigger Infrequency, Customer Loyalty, and Market Density.

Is the On-Demand Economy a Local Media Growth Engine — Or Its Death Knell?

Local on-demand services continue to dominate press and investor attention. But the elephant in the room is the degree to which on-demand could displace local marketing as we know it.

INFOGRAPHIC: A Quick, Deep Dive Into Local Pharmacies

Here’s a view of the U.S. pharmacy industry – not the drug makers but the local distribution networks made up of thousands of retail pharmacies. These pharmacies help drive the nearly $260B in “Drug Store Revenue.”

Latest Posts

Centro Launches Programmatic DSP to Put Mobile and Desktop Inventory in One Place

The veteran media management firm has rolled out a new demand-side platform that brings together its core desktop private exchanges with SiteScout, the mobile DSP that the company acquired in 2013.

Street Fight Daily: Square Raises $100M, GoDaddy’s Turnaround

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Square Raises More Money to Make Small Business Loans (Fortune)… Liquor Distributors Invest in Tech Firm to Boost E-Commerce in Alcohol (Wall Street Journal)… Deal Talks for Here Mapping Service Expose Reliance on Location Data (New York Times)…

Pinterest SMB Chief: 2 of 3 Businesses on Site Have a Physical Store

We recently caught up with Joel Meek to talk about how Pinterest is connecting consumer behavior form online to offline and why he thinks ecommerce is the next big growth area for small businesses on social media…

Why Is the Local Market So Elusive for Tech Companies?

The constraints of cost, critical mass, and time spawn a vicious cycle that hinders innovative new technology adoption in the local market. The promise of hyperlocal technology is alive and well, but any new startup aiming to crack the hyperlocal code needs to keep these things in mind…

Street Fight Daily: Verizon Buys AOL, Facebook Tests Search

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Verizon to Buy AOL for $4.4 Billion (New York Times)… In Hint of Ambition, Facebook Tests Search Engine to Share Links (Wall Street Journal)… After Several Public Google Maps Hacks, Google Forced To Suspend Map Maker To Prevent More Fake Edits (Search Engine Land)…

5 Analytics Platforms That Can Help Brands Understand Mobile Advertising

Mobile advertising analytics platforms are helping brands and agencies make better sense of the streams of data flowing in from their hyperlocal campaigns. More than half of marketing executives surveyed by Forbes Insights said they’re already using analytics to measure marketing campaign returns, and more than seven-in-10 expect to increase their reliance on data analytics […]

Why Brands and SMBs Need Each Other for Success in Local

Product brands commit more than $22 billion in online co-op advertising funds each year, but local businesses leave approximately $1 billion of these funds untouched. That’s a lot of money. The revenue brands stand to earn by introducing local businesses to the digital age is remarkable…

Street Fight Daily: Uber Eyes $50B Valuation, Google’s Mobile Search Strategy

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Uber Fund-Raising Points to $50 Billion Valuation (New York Times)… Google’s Mobile Search Strategy: Bake In and Take Out (Recode)… Yelp Sale Rumor Reminds Us that Social is Terrible as a Business Even If It Did Change the Web (VentureBeat)…

Yelp Reportedly Explores a Sale — Could Priceline Be a Fit?

Yelp may be on the auction block. In addition to the usual suspects, one less likely company stands out as a potential candidate: Priceline Group, the new owner of OpenTable.

Openings and New Hires at Verve Mobile, UpCity, xAd,Truecaller

Every two weeks, Kelly Benish — who knows practically everyone in local — covers some of the latest job changes taking place in this dynamic industry. (Plus, scroll down for jobs on offer now.) Brad Herman – Verve Mobile Verve Mobile announced the appointment of its first chief business development officer, Brad Herman. The announcement […]