News and Analysis

Street Culture: Cuebiq’s Aggressive Growth Bolstered by Candid Culture

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“We are a company that values transparency,” says the company’s CEO, Antonio Tomarchio. “Every month we present to all the people across the company everything that’s going on. I believe that not only it’s the right thing to do, but also that it’s always the best long-term strategy for success.”

Street Fight Daily: Google Tests Voice Ads on Speaker, Pinterest Targets Visual Search Market

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Google Tests Waters of Voice Ads on Speaker… Pinterest Goes After Visual Search Market Share… Alexa is Coming to the iPhone…

xAd Introduces Pay-for-Performance Model, Guaranteeing Offline Store Visits

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Location intelligence company xAd today launched a new media buying model called “Cost Per Visit,” which is intended to ensure offline visits at stores by customers — and offer better ROI for brands. Marketers who use “Cost Per Visit” only pay when targeted customers physically go to a store after seeing a mobile ad.

Latest Posts

Twitter Local: @MarissaMayer, @LisaWilliams, @PerryEvans, @RobCurley and more…

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This week on Twitter, Rob Curley notes that “innovative” doesn’t always drive readership; Closely’s Perry Evans calls Zagat “an aggregation model and methodology,” and Grapphic’s Michael Fives rolls his eyes at TechCrunch, AOL and HuffPo: It’s “like watching a bunch of spoiled children misbehave.” Read more from the hyperlocal twitterverse.

Street Fight Daily: 09.16.11

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal media, technology, advertising and startups...

According to Amazon, their Groupon-esque deals service will start displaying bargains on their Special Offer-oriented Kindles when a new software update goes live in coming weeks. (TechCrunch)…

AOL looks like it may be readying a new social network. It’s clear AOL is going for a more localized approach. And what does AOL already own that could be easily integrated with a localized social networking platform? Patch. (Business Insider)…

Are Big Media’s Partnerships With Seattle ‘Indies’ the Future of Hyperlocal?

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In the furiously expanding, highly competitive and often conflicted hyperlocal space, some pieces appear to be coming together. Just possibly, highly digital Seattle may be the birthplace for what has long eluded hyperlocal: a sustainable  business model.

I’m talking about the new partnerships between Fisher Interactive Network—the online division of multimedia Fisher Communications—and two hyperlocal “indies” in Southeast Seattle, Beacon Hill Blog and the Rainier Valley Post

Case Study: The Benefit of Being First

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Amsterdam Falafelshop in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington, D.C., has been first with a handful of deals companies, including Scoutmob and LivingSocial Instant Deals when each rolled out. Now, it’s first with Google Offers. A seasoned deals customer, Amsterdam has not seen much differentiation among the companies. Their pitches are similar and their results are similar. Only their payments differ, slightly. “But we like to partner with people who are starting out. … Once you’ve been around for awhile, we don’t really need to help you. You’ve got your shit together.”

Street Fight Daily: 09.15.11

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal media, technology, advertising and startups...

Groupon is planning to put its initial public offering back on track even as markets remain rocky. After postponing presentations to potential investors early this month, the online coupon giant is now aiming to go public in late October or early November, according to people briefed on the matter. (New York Times/Dealbook)…

Foursquare’s magical tool that will allow developers to build apps that can remind you to buy milk when you walk past the grocery store or notify you when a friend is in the area is being publicly released. (BetaBeat)…

Where a Yahoo-AOL Merger Would Leave Patch

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Rumors surfaced again last week that AOL and Yahoo were in talks to merge. Where would such a move leave Patch? Or Yahoo’s own local efforts? It all makes for compelling drama for sure, but one area likely to ‘pop’ in both categories is ‘local’ — i.e. Patch, Yahoo’s ‘Neighbors’ beta product, and a litany of other products on each side that are heavily reliant on local advertisers and audiences…

BIA/Kelsey: U.S. Deals Marketplace to Hit $4.2B by 2015

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The daily deals industry in the U.S. is growing so quickly that local media research firm BIA/Kelsey has revised its March 2011 forecast to reflect the expanded market. The revised report — which measures daily deals, flash sales and instant deals in a single metric — finds that consumer spending on deals will grow from last year’s figure of $873 million to $4.2 billion by 2015. This is a bump up from their March estimate of $3.9 billion (for 2015), and now represents a 36.7% compound annual growth rate…

Street Fight Daily: 09.14.11

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal media, technology, advertising and startups...

Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman claims that a 54% traffic growth this year has led the service to 63 million monthly unique visits. 21 million reviews grace the site and the app, and 1 million are being added every 30 days. He also calls Google’s acquisition of Zagat “a funny move. (The Next Web)…

Groupon’s Chinese joint venture Gaopeng is not doing so well. It has apparently closed 10 offices and fired at as many as 400 employees over the past three months. (ReadWriteWeb)…

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…

Case Study: Creating Loyalty Program on the Cheap Using Check-Ins

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The game dynamics of location-based services like SCVNGR aren’t just for consumers’ kicks. Fajitas & ‘Ritas proprietor Brad Fredericks in Boston, for one, has paired SCVNGR, as well as its spinoff service, LevelUp, with social advertising company LocalResponse to create a loyalty program that rewards customers for repeat visits. And if anyone’s counting, LevelUp is winning by at least a mile…