News and Analysis

Amazon to Launch Delivery Service for Businesses, Challenging UPS and FedEx

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Amazon is about to jump into the business of package delivery. The delivery program will launch in Los Angeles in the coming weeks before expanding to additional cities. The move poses a direct challenge to the likes of UPS and FedEx.

Liftoff Dating App Report Shows Cold Seasons’ User Behavior and Geographic Trends

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For local marketers, dating apps are prized for their location-reliable data. In a report released last week by mobile app marketing and targeting company Liftoff, the best time to register a dating app user is in August.

LBMA Podcast: SpherePay, Uberall, Walmart, Nissan

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This Week in Location Based Marketing is a weekly video podcast from the Location Based Marketing Association with Asif Khan, Rob Woodbridge & Aubriana Lopez. On the show: Untuckit goes RFID, Robomart, Starbucks tests AR, Discover + ApplePay.

Commentary

Why Local Media Can Dominate Daily Deals

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Pundits have been quick to predict the demise of daily deals following the recent news that Facebook and Yelp have scaled back their entries into the market, and that Groupon has delayed its IPO. Rather than buy into this hype, local media need to view this moment as an opportunity to double down and consolidate their positions to capitalize on this important new revenue stream…

Can Hyperlocals Help Solve the Jobs Problem?

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The stock market is falling, Europe is teetering and for many Americans, there are few jobs in sight. On Monday, the National Association of Business Economics issued a report underscoring what many Americans already know: jobs aren’t coming back in any substantial way any time soon. The panel of 52 economics experts said they expected GDP to grow just 1.5% this year, too low to move the needle on the 9% unemployment rate…

Daily Deals 2.0: Card-Connected Offers

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Banks now know more than practically anyone about consumer spending behaviors and they are rapidly entering the digital marketing and local commerce space. Many have rolled out programs that leverage technology to offer customers truly digital deals from merchants of all types via their existing credit or debit cards…

Latest Posts

Revenue a Key Focus for ‘The Brooklyn Game’ Founder

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In his much-quoted report for the FCC, Steve Waldman said that while hyperlocal news sites “do not make much money, they do not need to, because they function more as civic organizations than businesses, relying on volunteer efforts rather than cash.” But Waldman recently told us that The Brooklyn Game, for all its considerable civic presence, is, preeminently, a revenue-driven business where there are no slam dunks…

Street Fight Daily: Square Explores IPO, Google Tests Real-World Tracking

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal content, commerce, and technologySquare Exploring 2014 IPO With Banks (Wall Street Journal)… Google Takes Its Tracking Into The Real World (Digiday)… The Cost Of Winning: Tim Armstrong, Patch, And The Struggle To Save AOL (Business Insider)…

What Local Publishers Can Learn From Starbucks

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Publishers shouldn’t think about “what thing” they should do to make money, but rather “what experience am I delivering and how can I extend that experience thoughtfully?” If something adds value for readers, adds value for advertisers, and strengthens your other efforts then you should be doing it today…

As Programmatic Buying Gains Steam, Centro Snaps Up SiteScout for $40 Million

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The ad tech company that develops media management software for advertisers has acquired a self-serve advertising platform. The move comes as programmatic ad buying continues to grow in the digital advertising space….

Street Fight Daily: OpenTable Bets On Mobile, ReachLocal President Resigns

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal content, commerce, and technologyOpenTable Bets On Mobile App To Drive Revenue (Reuters)… More Exec Changes at ReachLocal  (LocalOnliner)… Will ZIP-Level Targeting Help Twitter Gain New SMB Advertisers (Screenwerk)…

Winding Down Investment In Patch, AOL Writes Off Millions

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AOL revenues fell sharply in the third quarter due to large writeoffs related to the continued challenges at the company’s hyperlocal news network Patch. During an earnings call Tuesday, the company said it took a $19 million charge due to recent restructuring costs at the hyperlocal media division as well as a $25 million charge related to non-cash asset impairment, or decrease in the valuation, of the project…

Groupon Defends Branded Keyword Practice

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A spokesperson for Groupon yesterday defended the company’s practice of buying branded keywords to promote discounts run for clients, telling Street Fight that most clients wants as much reach as possible. Some in the local marketing industry have criticized the practice lately, arguing that the deals company may be cannibalizing merchants’ potential sales by promoting discounts to users who were already looking for the business while diverting customers away from the merchant’s existing site…

Constant Contact Rolls Out Digital Coupons for SMBs

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Email marketing giant Constant Contact has rolled out a new coupon feature as part of its growing online marketing tools platform. The new service makes it possible for small businesses to offer discounts based on a given set of criteria such as increasing revenue and attracting long-term customers, within a single integrated resource…

Street Fight Daily: LivingSocial’s Traffic Plummets, Starbucks Touts Mobile

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal content, commerce, and technologyLivingSocial’s Traffic Is Plummeting (AllThingsD)… Sacramento Press, Community’s Online Newspaper, Is Sold To New Owner (Sacramento Bee)…
Starbucks Touts Mobile Adoption (MediaPost)…

How Online Review Sites Can Regain Consumers’ Trust

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As long as there are economic incentives to create bogus reviews, unscrupulous people and businesses will continue to exploit the platforms that make it easy to deceive. For the local players seeking to help users in selecting a great business, use the offline world as a guide. Require an identity, build communities of real people sharing advice, and give legitimate customers a megaphone to honestly rate the service received…