News and Analysis

Brands Struggle to Keep Up with Demand for Cross-Channel Personalization

Consumers want offline shopping experiences to be just as personalized as online, but new research from the customer data firm Segment shows that most major brands are failing to meet those expectations.

Street Fight Daily: Amazon’s Dominance Grows, The Guardian Wants to Clean Up Programmatic

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Amazon’s Share of E-Commerce Market Grows in 2017, Nearing Half of Sales… The Guardian Wants Publishers to Unite to Clean Up Programmatic… Facebook Releases News Feed Guidelines for Publishers…

TripAdvisor Pushes Further Into Restaurant Space with Local Ad Product

Having already tackled travel and hotels, TripAdvisor is continuing to go after the restaurant vertical, today launching a new product aimed at independent restaurants and restaurant groups. TripAdvisor Ads marks the company’s first product designed to allow restaurants to reach customers through cost-per-click sponsored ad placements.

Latest Posts

2013: The Revenge of the Merchant

Next year, merchants will start to gain the upper hand in online marketing. That gain will come from lessons in the consumer market, where simple UI and UX have become paramount for success and sophisticated filtering has given way to three-click processes.

Street Fight Daily: Mobile Ad Spend Jumps, Web Only Gets Physical

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal content, commerce, and technology.US Mobile Ad Spending Jumps to $4 Billion (eMarketer)… Once Proudly Web Only, Shopping Sites Hang Out Real Shingles (The New York Times)… Garmin Integrates Foursquare and Glympse with Mobile Apps for Non-Creepy Location-Sharing on the Go (The Next Web)…

Native Advertising Could Spell Trouble for Foursquare With Brands

Given that Foursquare’s user base isn’t going to get as big as Facebook’s or Twitter’s (which is not necessarily a bad thing) and considering the pressure to justify its valuation, putting too much faith in a native ad model could potentially spell trouble for the company…

Mobile Digital Mood Ring? Gravy Targets Hyperlocal Events — All of Them

I recently caught up with Jeff White, the serial entrepreneur behind timeRAZOR’s app. Among other things, Gravy asks users what kinds of events and experiences they are in the mood for — rather than presenting them with a menu of options…

Placecast, SocialVibe Partner to Combine Geolocation and Virtual Currency

SocialVibeA new partnership between digital ad company SocialVibe and location-based mobile marketer Placecast will deliver virtual currency, accumulated via online browsing and gaming, to consumers looking for geotargeted retail discounts…

Street Fight Daily: Apple Talks with Foursquare, Facebook Guns for Yelp

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal content, commerce, and technology.Apple in Talks With Foursquare About Data-Sharing Deal (The Wall Street Journal)… Facebook Pushes Into Crowded Territory — Again — With Local Discovery Update (AllThingsD)… Swipely Hits Its Stride Combining Payments, Analytics and Loyalty (GigaOm)…

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…

A Street Fight Brews in Europe Over Hyperlocal Info

Legacy yellow pages providers, domestic start-ups, and American powerhouses like Yelp are vying for the still wide-open European market. Street Fight caught up with 1001 Menus CEO Xavier Zeitoun to discuss the hyperlocal ecosystem on the continent, as well as some of the roadblocks for American companies looking to expand…

How Enhanced Targeting Will Change Local Commerce in 2013

Restaurants are moving away from the traditional daily-deal model and demanding more targeted services. In 2013 we will see the marketing landscape dominated by three types of marketing services addressing more specific merchant goals: snipers, niche pure plays, and the cycle-conscious…

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)…