News and Analysis

PlaceIQ Study Examines the State of Integrated Marketing

A generational shift is impacting the way consumers interact with brands, downplaying the role that physical stores play in the traditional retail environment. According to Duncan McCall, CEO of location intelligence firm PlaceIQ, the changes that brands have seen thus far are just the tip of the iceberg.

food

Street Fight Daily: Digital Habits Disrupt Grocery, What New iPhones Mean for Brands

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Deloitte Study Shows 51% of Grocery Purchases Influenced by Digital, Urges Action… End of an Era: Amazon’s 1-Click Patent Expires, Opening Practice to Rivals… Google Relaxes Policy on Subscription Sites, Lending Publishers a Hand…

New iPhones May Open the Door for Brands to Experiment With AR

The new iPhones are an opportunity for brands to reach potential customers in new ways, especially when merged with location, says Wendell Lansford, co-founder of Wyng, a digital campaign platform for agencies and brands.

Latest Posts

Street Fight Daily: Facebook Offers, Groupon Editor Exits

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal content, commerce, and technology.Facebook Adds Barcodes, New Ad-Buy Rider To Its Offers Coupon Product (TechCrunch)… Groupon Loses Managing Editor to Sun-Times Parent Wrapports (Romenesko)… Trulia Stock Pops on Opening Day (Wired)…

Extracting Key Metrics to Make Your Hyperlocal Site More Valuable

“Quantitative” data — those UVs and PVs — work effectively for advertisers who want volume, Lofgren says, but most hyperlocals aren’t big enough to deliver multi-millions numbers in audience. “Qualitative” data, he says, tells you who your customers are — by their activity on the site, as it’s actually happening — or their identity, with information neatly served up from sign-up info. But it can tell much more if the publisher surveys a sampling of site visitors with multiple-choice questions…

Online Retailer Uses Daily Deals, Facebook Ads to Grow Business

When Anthony Bronzo was brought on to manage marketing and advertising for Born to Run, a Seattle-based athletic shoe retailer with two physical locations and a popular online store, he was tasked with finding new ways to reach the company’s core customers—active trail runners and CrossFit devotees. In his few short months on the job, Bronzo has managed to reach those customers using a combination of targeted ads on Facebook and Google AdWords, and by running daily deals with companies like Group Commerce and CBS Local…

Street Fight Daily: Groupon Pays Up, Yelp Shines in Apple Maps

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal content, commerce, and technology.Groupon Promising Merchants “Lowest Cost” Payments Service (And It’s Using an iPhone) (All Things D)… You May Hate Apple Maps, But the Yelp Integration is Something to Love (Venture Beat)… How Better Location Data Could Mean More-targeted Mobile Ads (GigaOm)…

Report: 72% of SMBs Plan to Increase Mobile Spend in Next 12 Months

Much of the survey reinforces what we already know – namely, that location targeting is a big value driver for SMBs and web sales models like cost-per-click and cost per impression will not fly in a mobile environment. The survey conducted by Borrell Associates on behalf of Pontiflex also found that 46% of SMBs would be interested in a self-serve option for mobile advertising, which is good sign for the entire local marketing space…

Hyperlocal Sites Making a Church-and-State Mistake?

Hyperlocal news sites are struggling to earn money. In part, that’s because they have imposed the artificial burden of a full church-state separation (ads / news) like the New York Times and other top-flight pubs. In an ideal world, this separation works. But in small town papers or small papers covering hyperlocal areas, church and state will never be separate – and never have been.

Street Fight Daily: Criticism Over Apple Maps, Yahoo Won’t Be Checking-In

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal content, commerce, and technology.Apple’s Maps Are A Disaster Waiting To Happen (SAI)… Looks Like Yahoo Won’t Be Buying Foursquare (Screenwerk)… Official: Yellow Pages May Be Worthless (Paid Content)…

What Do SMBs Really Need From Digital Platforms?

Amidst the fog of buzzwords and the scramble for investment dollars, are locally targeted startups solving problems that are worth the effort? Within that industry we all generally have a conviction that our products and services matter, but we do spend a lot of our time within a circle of people who don’t need convincing. If our ultimate constituency is the business owner, the question we should ask is: “What really matters to SMBs?”

As Obama vs. Romney Heads to Homestretch, Campaigns Get Hyperlocal

With seven weeks remaining until Election Day, it’s seeming clear that the ballots of specific swing voters in specific neighborhoods in Florida, Ohio, Virginia and other battleground states could once again decide the presidency. Recent polls show the two candidates neck-and-neck in several states, and campaigns, super PACs and other interest groups are employing geographically targeted political ad platforms more than ever…

Street Fight Daily: Square Goes Big, eBay Connects Its Local Dots

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal content, commerce, and technology.Square Goes Big: Raises $200M at $3.25B Valuation (GigaOm)… EBay’s RedLaser Takes On Shopkick, Adds Geofencing And Deals With Best Buy To Barcode Scanning App (TechCrunch)… Amazon May Follow Apple, Give Google Maps the Boot (Wired)…