News and Analysis

Hiya and Samsung Turn the Phone Dialer Into a Local Search Engine

“When you buy a new Samsung device, the phone just does more than the iPhone or any other Android,” says Mayur Kamat, Hiya’s VP of product. “Without downloading or installing anything, the user can call a business in the same way they call their friends and family.”

Street Fight Daily: Google and Walmart Partner Up, Uber Turmoil Starts to Affect Investor Support

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Google and Walmart Partner Up as Both Face Threat from Amazon… Mutual Funds Mark Down Uber Investments by Up to 15%… Wall Street Loves Ad Tech Right Now — As Long As You’re Making a Profit…

Street Fight Daily: Facebook Faces a Slide in Young Users, Tech Giants Invest in TV Advertising

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… How Instagram and Snapchat Are Benefiting from Facebook’s Loss of Young Users… Why Tech Giants Are Spending Big on TV Ads.. Google as the New Home Page — A Tactical Guide…

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Alabama Deals Site Puts Focus on Merchants to Compete With Groupon

Deal Co-op CEO Nate Schmidt says that when Birmingham, Ala.,-based TheSuperDeal is pitching deals to local merchants, sales reps are usually not just making cold sales calls. Rather, because of the team’s longstanding local ties to the city, it’s often a pitch to a business that someone that their team knows in some way, he says: “We’ve been in the community. There’s no doubt that’s been really important.”

Street Fight Daily: TaskRabbit Scores $13M, Tribune Keeps Journatic

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal content, commerce, and technology.TaskRabbit Takes Another $13M, With Founders Fund Leading the Round (All Things D)… Media Companies have Trouble Finding the Sweet Spot in Hyperlocal Journalism (Chicago Tribune)… The Hard Truths of Hyperlocal Journalism Reveal Themselves in Journatic Trouble (Poynter)…

As Deals Look Forward, a ‘Red Herring’ Threatens Growth

For LivingSocial, a strong editorial voice in selecting and presenting “experiences” – whether online or offline — makes its brand harder to replicate. Voice, whether that’s conveyed through the kind of deals offered or through the content that surrounds it, is hugely important to creating value that’s resistant to the degenerative pull of commoditization…

How Mobile Is Transforming Local Marketing

By using mobile-location data and predictive analytics, advertisers can reach users with deals based upon where they work, live and socialize. If a relevant ad is delivered and the transaction can be completed in one-or-two clicks, mobile advertising will provide what local merchants are willing to pay for – real sales results…

PODCAST: This Week in Location-Based Marketing — Foursquare, Loc-Aid

In this week’s episode, hosts Rob Woodbridge and Asif Khan discuss Coke’s campaign with Foursquare to save your parks; finally an app for chocolate lovers to get excited about; plus stories about VISA, Liveshare, Microsoft, our resource of the week and special guest Caroline Hodge CMO of Loc-Aid…

Street Fight Daily: Highlight Takes Two, Digital First Announces Curation Team

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal content, commerce, and technology.Highlight 1.2 Solves Some of the App’s Problems, but Big Questions Remain (The Verge)… Digital First Announces Curation Team (10,000 Words)… Twitter Offers Location Targeted Advertisements (CNET)…

Billions in Local Ad Dollars Surge to Online — But Just a Trickle to News

We hear a lot about the surging growth of local online ad revenue, and, to be sure, the numbers are growing fast — to $16.4 billion in 2011 (up 18% annually) and $19.90 billion projected for 2012 (up 22.2%), according to Borrell Associated. But very little of that revenue is flowing to “pure-play” news hyperlocals…

Case Study: Jenn-Air Connects With Luxury Consumers Via Mobile App

As vice president of marketing for Jenn-Air, Brian Maynard oversaw the development of a mobile application that uses GPS technology to help high-end consumers connect with retailers offering Jenn-Air products in their local areas…

Street Fight Daily: Ebay Sees Mobile Surge, Bing Adds Foursquare

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal content, commerce, and technology.EBay’s John Donahoe Seeing a “Staggering Surge” in Mobile Shopping (All Things D)… LocalResponse Teams Up With ShopLocal For In-Store Mobile Ads (TechCrunch)…

Foursquare Adds ‘Updates’ Function for Local Merchants

The location-based app has rolled out a new tool this afternoon called Local Updates, which allows businesses to publish content (for free) to nearby users who have checked-in in the past. The updates will appear within users’ friends tabs, as well as in businesses’ listings under the explore tab…