Is there life left in local, broadsheet "shopper" publications that highlight home and trade businesses and things for sale? Not according to OpenGate, a $3 Billion LBO firm that abruptly laid off workers for Pennysaver USA, the industry's largest company,…
Verizon's announcement today that it will buy AOL for $4.4 billion is a bid to get beyond dumb pipes and airwaves to get deeply into mobile and video. By doing so, Verizon, a $200 Billion company, hopes to play on…
Today's announcement that UT San Diego and its eight regional publications will be acquired by Tribune Publishing's Los Angeles Times for a slightly better-than-fire sale price of $85 million (plus $100 million in pension liabilities) points to several things. 1.…
Last year, like millions of others, I bought a Nest thermostat. It is connected to my WiFi, and I can use its iPhone app to turn off the heat from the Airport. It also knows if we aren't home, and…
Facebook is felt by some to have the potential to dominate SMB online advertising because of its incredibly high organic usage. But the challenge to drive even more SMB advertisers remains. The company currently reports that it has 40 million…
Signpost announced today it has raised a new $20.5 Million round, which will let it build out an evolved, CRM-based "close the loop" strategy of tracking SMB digital sources via transactions, social media, websites and email. The current round has…
Leads are coming from everywhere, and the digital marketing firms have adjusted to this reality. ReachLocal, for one, has now opened up its ReachEdge lead conversion and marketing automation software. It now has the capability to track leads and other…
Local ad spending reached $137.9 billion in 2014, and will see a slight boost to $139.4 billion in 2015. We talked with BIA/Kelsey Chief Economist and SVP Mark Fratrik about the new research (interview below). Every year, BIA/Kelsey issues a…
FiveStars, the well-funded SMB loyalty company that competes against Belly, SpotOn and others, is projecting it will grow its merchant base to 8,000-9,000 businesses by year-end, up from its current base of 6,000 customers. Customers who subscribe to FiveStars premium…
We've long seen scheduling as a possible anchor for SMB marketing services (coupons, leads, promotions, analytics, upsells et al). Obviously, we are not alone. More than 75 players are positioning themselves to lead the way in scheduling, including MindBody, Booker,…
More than 75 companies are now providing scheduling solutions, resulting in a super fragmented marketplace where no single company has even five percent of the existing market. One by-product of the glut: the need for a one stop, API-driven product…
More than 75 companies are now providing scheduling solutions, resulting in a super fragmented marketplace where no single company has even five percent of the existing market. One by-product of the glut: the need for a one stop, API-driven product…
Video is now available for purchase from the third and most evolved edition of BIA/Kelsey NATIONAL, which took place March 25-27 in Dallas. At the show, we saw that industry leaders were in general agreement that major progress has been…
Video is now available for purchase from the third and most evolved edition of BIA/Kelsey NATIONAL, which took place March 25-27 in Dallas. At the show, we saw that industry leaders were in general agreement that major progress has been…
Groupon is apparently thinking hard about dismantling its ambitious SMB platform, and refocusing on its core strengths in prepaid deals, goods and travel. Reports have come out saying that Groupon is offering to sell its Breadcrumb POS platform, which had…
Amazon Home Services has been in beta since November and has now formally launched. The service will take on Angie's List, Home Advisor and a slew of new players in the increasingly crowded home services space (i.e. Pro,com, Serviz, Home…
Amazon Home Services has been in beta since November and has now formally launched. The service will take on Angie's List, Home Advisor and a slew of new players in the increasingly crowded home services space (i.e. Pro,com, Serviz, Home…
The BIA/Kelsey "Status and Review of Card-Linked Offers, 2015" report, which is based on in-depth interviews with industry leaders, has generated a lot of interest among the various shareholders of card-linked offers and non-advertising marketing solutions (including financial institutions, tech…
The BIA/Kelsey "Status and Review of Card-Linked Offers, 2015" report, which is based on in-depth interviews with industry leaders, has generated a lot of interest among the various shareholders of card-linked offers and non-advertising marketing solutions (including financial institutions, tech…
Marking an end of an era, CallSource has sold its media and publishing division to LogMyCalls (formerly ContactPoint.) The sale reflects several things about the evolution of the call management space -- which remains absolutely vital to the local and…
