News and Analysis
Street Fight Daily: Duopoly’s Strength Exceeds Expectations, Pubs Struggle with Apple News
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Google and Facebook Tighten Grip on US Digital Ad Market… Publishers Continue to Encounter Problems with Apple New… Alphabet’s Waymo Wants Uber to Pay $2.6 Billion for Single Stolen Trade Secret…
How Showroom Concept Stores Are Changing the Retail Industry
A number of major retailers and startups have been pioneering a local showrooming strategy, divorcing the purchasing of products from the distribution, and focusing more on experiences than in-person sales. Here are six examples of retailers that have been able to navigate this merchandise-free (or light) approach to local retail.
Latest Posts
5 Location-Based Marketing Platforms for Brands Without Retail Stores
Figuring out where to purchase products from a brand that doesn’t have its own retail establishment can present a challenge for many consumers. Increasingly, major brands like Vicks and Nestlé are using location-based marketing platforms to help point potential buyers in the right direction. Here are five platforms offering brands a way to take advantage of such technology on their own terms…
Street Fight Daily: VeriFone Kills Square Competitor, FTC Probe Nears End
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal content, commerce, and technology.… VeriFone Gives Up Competing Head-on with Square (GigaOm)… Deal Near on Google Antitrust Probe? (Politico)… With $8M In Seed Funding From Founders Fund, Goldman Sachs; Urban Compass Wants To Build A Hyper-Local, Human-Powered Database (TechCrunch)…
Openings & New Hires at Locu, Groupon, Patch, Signpost, and More…
There’s lots happening in hyperlocal as the year comes to a close: Locu snags PayPal vet Mok Oh as an adviser, plus lands a hot ex-Googler. Booker brings on a dynamic duo in its hiring spree. Patch sees big moves at the top. And there are some shifts at Groupon and open gigs at Telenav, Signpost, Swipely, Yellowbook, Yelp, and more…
What Kinds of Mobile Ads Are Most Effective?
Mobile advertising works best when it’s not in the form of a banner ad. On a panel at the Mobile Loco conference in San Francisco this week, participants agreed that the most promising approach is serving interesting content formatted to smartphones and tablets as a part of a contextual marketing strategy. The more an advertisement looks like a mobile app, the more consumer acceptance it will garner…
Street Fight Daily: Airbnb Buys Localmind, A New Hail for Gotham
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal content, commerce, and technology.… Airbnb Goes Social and Local with Acquisition of Localmind (GigaOm)… Hail to the Big Apple! NYC Temporarily Approves Taxi Apps, but e-Hailing’s Restricted to 1.5 miles (The Next Web)… Franken’s Location Privacy Bill Voted Out Of Judiciary Committee (AdWeek)…
‘Post-Industrial Journalism’ Report Deserves an A, and an F
A new report from Columbia’s Tow Center for Digital Journalism takes a look at everything that’s wrong with digital journalism, starting at the top and going all the way down to the hyperlocal level. The report pins antiquated journalistic practices to the wall and recommends specific fixes. But it also wrongly asserts that the Internet has permanently “wrecked” journalism’s advertising model.
Local Corp CEO: Mobile Is a Type of Traffic, Not a Type of Product
Street Fight recently caught up with Local Corporation CEO Heath Clarke, who has helmed the company since 2001 — several lifetimes ago in Internet years. He talked about the company’s position in the hyperlocal ecosystem, the growing importance of mobile for SMBs and the future of daily deals as a category…
The Road Ahead: What Autonomous Cars Teach Us About Marketing Automation