News and Analysis

Report: Google Shopping Ads Taking Over Ad Spend from Traditional Formats

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A new report from search intelligence company Adthena shows how consumers are interacting differently with new advertising formats and points to ad innovation as an essential brand investment.

Street Fight Daily: Duopoly Dominance Declines, Macy’s Rolls Out AR & Mobile Checkout

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… The Duopoly’s Share of the Ad Market Could Decline for the First Time… Demonstrating Where Retailers Are Going, Macy’s Rolls Out Mobile Checkout & AR Feature… The Cambridge Analytica Scandal Won’t Stop Advertisers from Spending on Facebook..

5 ‘Smart’ Shelf Solutions for Retailers

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So-called “smart” shelves are changing the way retailers interact with customers on the sales floor and offering added value to consumer-facing store apps. Here are five examples of smart shelving technologies being used by retailers right now.

Commentary

Why Do We Check In?

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“I did not want to be mayor of my dentist’s office. Why did I even check in?” read a tweet posted last week by Digital First Media’s Steve Buttry. Buttry was echoing a thought that I’ve had a lot lately about my own habit of checking in to Foursquare: I don’t know exactly why I’m checking in, or what I get out of it — yet I do it anyway, usually several times per day.

Is Online Sports Video Content an Ideal Draw for Local Ads?

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Local has long been regarded as the sleeping giant of digital advertising; a sector seemingly waiting for someone else to develop the ideal solution to help advertisers capitalize on its massive potential. In recent years, the broader media conversations have moved toward mobile and social — yet video has been proven to have the most upside for both local consumers and brand marketers…

With an Inherently Local Ad Base, Publishers Can Take the Mobile Lead

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Local businesses already recognize the need to follow the eyeballs from traditional media to mobile, but they are looking for partners to facilitate the move. Publishers are that partner. They already have the relationships with local advertisers. They already are a trusted guide, their publications a reliable channel, and they’ve already bought into the value of mobile…

Latest Posts

Street Fight Daily: Uber’s Surge Pricing Stays, AOL CEO Speaks About Patch

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology.Uber CEO: Surge Pricing Is Here to Stay (Wall Street Journal)… AOL CEO Upbeat on Adap.tv Business, Patch Partnership (USA Today)… Yelp seeks Washington clout after rapid rise in Silicon Valley (The Hill)…

Is Newspapers’ Falling Knife Finally Starting to Rise?

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Wall Street thinks the long-term decline of newspaper revenues may be near bottom as print losses are close to being outweighed by consumer and digital revenue increases. With Warren Buffet and Jeff Bezos buying into the industry as a long-term play, the broader financial markets are following suit. The newspaper industry is getting some of its most positive signs in years…

5 Revenue Diversification Strategies for Hyperlocal Publications

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Revenue diversification is a hot topic within the hyperlocal community, as publishers seek out new ways to generate income without sacrificing the quality of the products they provide. Some publishers are gaining audience share by partnering with other local media, some are focusing on mobile ad strategies, and others are competing for grants as non-profit organizations. What they all have in common is an interest in finding new ways to expand beyond traditional banner ads…

Street Fight Daily: YP Buys Sense Networks, Taskrabbit Delivers Cold Medicine

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology.YP, a Mobile Search Firm, Buys Sense Networks (New York Times)… Walgreens Taps TaskRabbit to Deliver Cold Medicine to Shut-Ins (Mashable)… Facebook WiFi Comes to Some Netgear Routers, Allowing Small Businesses to Offer Free WiFi access (The Next Web)…

Why HouseCall Thinks Taxi Apps Are Just The Tip Of The Iceberg

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Last year, four engineers from Qualcomm, who were responsible for the company’s location sensor product Gimbal, left the company to start HouseCall, a system that helps users find and book local providers who service home-related projects like plumbing or audio/visual installation. The company has built a similar marketplace model as Seamless in the food delivery sector, providing enterprise software for free to merchants and then selling leads generated by its consumer product…

5 Platforms For Location Data Analysis

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Location data analysis platforms track the spatial behavior of consumers based on previous ad exposures. Although competing platforms work slightly differently from one another, each with its own features and limitations, the overall effect is that marketers can finally determine whether mobile ad exposures are actually luring customers inside their physical stores. Here are five examples of platforms that marketers can use for location data analysis…

Street Fight Daily: Cox Buys Back Stake In AutoTrader, LivingSocial Sells Groupon Stock

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology.Cox to Buy Back Stake in AutoTrader (Wall Street Journal)… LivingSocial Selling its Groupon Stock (Chicago Tribune)… No Mention of Patch in AOL Chief Executive’s End-of-Year Memo (Romenesko)…

How Community News Sites Can Get the Most Out of Facebook

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To get specific about how publishers can maximize their presence on the biggest social media platform, I went to Jake Batsell, who is writing a forthcoming book on audience engagement. Here’s what he told me, based on more than a hundred interviews and visits to many old and new media community news operations…

Openings and New Hires at Whitepages, Advance Digital, LocalBlox & Topix

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Every two weeks, Search Influence’s Kelly Benish — who knows practically everyone in hyperlocal — covers some of the latest job changes taking place in this dynamic industry. In this week’s edition, new hires and jobs at AT&T, VendAsta, LinkedIn, AOL, and more…

LBMA Podcast: 10,000 Predictions for 2014

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In this week’s episode, hosts Rob Woodbridge and Asif Khan take a look back at their 2013 predictions and forecast what is to come in 2014 including the companies we feel will flare and falter…