BIA/Kelsey has just learned that business accounting software giant Intuit has acquired the online scheduling company Full Slate. The plan apparently is to connect Full Slate's capabilities to another recent Intuit acquisition, the digital marketing services player DemandForce. Intuit acquired…
In a deal designed to fuel innovation at First Data, the payments powerhouse has acquired mobile marketing and loyalty start-up Perka for an undisclosed amount. First Data plans to let Perka continue to operate autonomously and service as an "agile…
SMBs that utilize mobile advertising distinguish themselves by more than being trendsetters. They are spending more advertising dollars, tend to be early adopters in their use of digital compared to their counterparts and are savvier in how they leverage data…
Jason E. Klein, Founder and CEO of On Grid Ventures, led a StreetFight Summit panel of investors exploring where the next billion dollar opportunities in hyperlocal might be. Joining Klein were Matt Turck, Managing Partner, First Mark Capital and Ben Siscovick, with IA…
According to BIA/Kelsey's new Consumer Commerce Monitor™ (CCM) survey, 94 percent of the consumers surveyed have gone online for local shopping purposes and 59.5 percent have actually completed a local purchase of merchandise or services online, within the last six months. Brick-and-mortar…
How can you constantly top yourself? It is a challenge that leaders have, in whatever endeavor they are pursuing: whether it is sports, literature, academia, or business. We are pretty sure this year's Interactive Local Media event - BIA/Kelsey's flagship…
Last week we held a webcast on call monetization and analytics sponsored by LogMyCalls. The first half of the webcast featured BIA/Kelsey data and analysis of the market opportunity; the second half drilled down on what LogMyCalls specifically is doing…
Canada's Yellow Media has named Solocal executive Julien Billot as its new president & CEO. Longtime CEO Mark Tellier departed in August and was replaced temporarily by company chairman Robert McLellan. Billot is expected to take the helm at YPG…
With the majority of U.S. auto buyers now using online and mobile in their research, the auto sites are clarifying their individual roles in the auto ecosystem - and making adjustments where necessary. This week, a panel of car site…
Hibu will go through a leadership shake up early next year, an aftermath of the recent takeover of the company by lenders. Today we learned that Hibu Chairman Bob Wigley will leave the board, to be replace by Alfred Mockett,…
Speaking at Digital Media East 2013 today, I shared five themes we're seeing in local media and among Small-Medium Businesses (SMBs): 1. Traditional Media rule... and will continue to do so. 2. Content (generation, discovery, distribution) as ever stronger nexus…
As part of our ongoing video series, see our on-stage interview with Retailigence below. The company continues to innovate at the intersection of "big data" and Mobile/local. It's building the largest database of sku-level product information out there. This of…
BIA/Kelsey has just published a Briefing that examines HubsSpot Sales SVP Mark Roberge's presentation at last month's Leading in Local: SMB Digital Marketing even in Austin, TX. By all accounts, the 15-minute presentation was a clinic in how a local/SMB…
Google's Payments division is seeking synergies across many of Google's business units - hence the recent insertion of several AdWords executives into the Payments leadership. Speaking at Money2020 in Las Vegas, Google Payment VP Ariel Bardin bluntly acknowledged that…
While industry hype would suggest that payments will be largely coming from the phone within a few years, a majority of Money 2020 attendees, in a survey, said it won't be happening until 2020 or later. The four question survey…
One of the underlying themes at BIA/Kelsey's recent SMB Digital Marketing conference was extending beyond marketing services for SMBs. This includes operational tools that address their pain points and "lock-in" deeper (read: higher retention) relationships. This is something we've covered several…
Card linked offers are increasingly being used by merchants and consumers alike. Indeed, a group of early adopters have already started using card linked offers on a weekly or monthly basis, with usage expected to be constant and universal within…
Marchex announced two new products today, meant to further clarify attribution for successful call-based ad campaigns. Known respectively as Call DNA and Dynamic Tracking, they both work towards clearer advertising ROI, and iterative campaign optimization. This basically comes down to…
The first of our Local Commerce Monitor United Kingdom™ (LCM UK), Wave 2 reports is being released exclusively to our clients today, highlighting our key findings. In it, BIA/Kelsey surveys 300 small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in the United Kingdom…
One of the most amazing cyber-stories is the redevelopment of the elite TED - Technology, Entertainment and Design -conferences into a multi channel, multi city and multi country branded phenomenon. Since 2009, there have been 7,552 TED events in 151…
