Centro, the media planner that tries to “simplify the entire local online media buying process for agencies and media partners,” took a hit from auto advertising last year. But it has continued to grow overall, thanks to gains in regional…
TMP Directional Marketing has announced that industry vet Gregg Stewart will run 15miles, a new full service interactive division that "connects consumers to national brands found in local markets." Stewart, a leading change agent in the Yellow Pages industry for…
Quality guarantees are the name of the game in 2009. On the consumer side, ServiceMagic and Idearc Yellow Pages have guaranteed the quality of work for their advertisers. Now, on the advertiser side, Cobalt’s Dealix is guaranteeing the quality of…
Angie’s List, which now has 750,000 premium paying members, says it will begin verifying the credentials of local service companies. Those found to be out of compliance will have an opportunity to comply or face an outing from Angie’s List.…
TV stations can only grow their Internet businesses by leveraging their local credentials and focusing on vertical categories such as automotive and health. That’s the word from Internet Broadcasting's president and CEO, David Lebow, the former AOL Media Networks exec…
LivingSocial, the Facebook breakout that includes Virtual Bookshelf and eight other verticals (music, movies, video games, television shows, restaurants, beer, slopes, iPhone apps), has gone local, hiring a sales rep in both New York and Washington, D.C., to sell special…
The opportunities for “citizen journalism” and “consumer nation” are there. Social and hyperlocal media sites like Yelp and Angie’s List have done more than OK. But mobile on-the-go apps are more than likely going to kick the roof off. Citysearch…
Tip sheets on local bargains seem like an obvious local media play. I even sketched one out at dinner with friends last winter. Bargain Babe LA is better than anything I was thinking of. Launched in July by former LA…
Online video is increasingly being segmented into vertical themes, creating on-demand networks for specific subjects. The latest network to launch is Thelaw.tv, a legal site that, according to reporting in TV NewsCheck, uses former broadcast talent to product legal advice…
The idea of national retailers using the Web to add a local presence is always a good one, at least up on the white board. But up to now, such stores really haven’t had much to say at the local…
MSNBC.com's purchase of EveryBlock, the hyperlocal data gatherer, is seen internally as an important piece of the puzzle in building out local content and services. It is likely to herald in a revived focus on local by MSNBC.com, which remains…
Auto repairs are a $150 billion part of the U.S. economy, but leads and advertising for auto repair shops remain relatively underdeveloped -- even though fewer than 30 percent of U.S. drivers can claim a trusted mechanic. Seeking to change…
Personalized news platforms that can guess what users want to see are being developed by several competing teams. One expectation is that newspapers and other local media will want to use them to power next generation services. Last week, we…
Local Web sites don’t necessarily follow jurisdictional borders, traditional newspaper circulation areas or broadcast DMAs. Hyperlocal sites, similarly, are finding they can effortlessly extend their market reach and leverage their technology platforms. The San Diego News Network, which has been…
Out of home is rapidly evolving, and so are the players in it. This week, Danoo and IdeaCast, which recently merged, announced they are rebranding the combined entities as Reach Media Group. RMG will initially focus on three segments: the…
The glory of Craigslist is “its size and its price,” notes writer Gary Wolf in a provocative dissection of the site in the September edition of Wired. But “Craigslist is one of the strangest monopolies in history, where customers are…
EBay’s one-month trial program selling new GM vehicles has resulted in 2,400 offers, according to GM (as reported by The Los Angeles Times). EBay’s trial, which could be extended nationwide, has been set up for 225 of GM’s 250 dealerships…
Hyperlocal, everyone’s favorite unproven concept, has been back in the news this week. It started a couple of weeks ago. BackFence Founder Mark Potts announced that he has formed a high-profile team and built ad technology to drive network and…
Web.com and MerchantCircle are teaming up to leverage Web.com’s appeal as a provider of “premium” SMB services, and MerchantCircle’s appeal as an introductory-level provider of SMB services that is more oriented toward building traffic and selling advertising. Web.com is a…
The overlap (and confusion) between “local” and “personalization” has always been a big one. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Online media pioneer Neil Budde is the founding publisher of WSJ.com and former head at Yahoo News. Budde has…
