At BIA/Kelsey's recent Engage conference, Gatehouse Media's Peter Newton shared a detailed look at how Gatehouse's digital agency wing Propel Marketing is expanding its scope and relevance for its SMB customers. Today, Propel is moving well beyond media into events, finance and…
June is graduation month and in the spirit of graduation month in our Local Commerce Monitor™ Wave 19 data, there are some interesting segments of SMBs who are ahead of the curve on their use social or mobile channels than the…
In BIA/Kelsey’s Local Commerce Monitor survey of small and medium businesses, we asked our 1,000+ respondents if they use customer relationship management (CRM) systems. 1 in 4 SMBs reported that they currently use a CRM system and another 20.7% responded that…
Millennial consumers heavy usage of social and video is driving changes in how small businesses approach advertising according to a new study, "Unlocking the Most Powerful Shift in SMB Marketing," from Magisto. Millennials create video and share on social more than…
The National Association of Broadcasters is placing bets on the broadcasting industry's future by offering cash awards of up to $20K in its PILOT Challenge for those submitting winning ideas that present innovative value propositions to both the audience and broadcasters, as well as its…
Manta and BIA/Kelsey will join forces on a webinar next week (June 29 from 2 pm - 3 pm Eastern Time) that looks at the vexing problem of acquiring very small businesses at a customer acquisition cost that doesn't break…
It may sound obvious but most local media companies don't do it: "Have the local business owner's interests at heart," says Jef Biesman. As VP of Customer Marketing and Acquisition at YP, he has perhaps more perspective than anyone in local…
This is the latest in BIA/Kelsey's Vantage Points series. On a semi-weekly basis, it will tap the perspectives of various lookout points from around the local media and tech sectors. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect that of BIA/Kelsey. Please contact mbolandATbiakelsey if…
Earlier this week, Facebook announced it will track the spatial behavior of signed-in users via GPS. This is meant to measure local foot traffic that's influenced by ads, and it will have a considerable impact on offline attribution given Facebook's scale…
Earlier this week Microsoft acquired social media networking site LinkedIn for $26.2 billion. With the acquisition, Microsoft CEO Mr. Satya Nadella says the company plans to combine the programs (such as Microsoft's Office and Office 365) and professional networks that connect…
U.S. mobile ad revenues will grow from $25 billion last year to $72 billion by 2020.* That's according to the mobile portion of BIA/Kelsey's latest local media forecast, released today. Of this total, location targeted mobile ad spend** will grow…
The oldest millennials are 36. In addition to making me feel old, that means that millennials now wholly occupy the coveted 18 - 34 consumer demographic. Among other things that makes them a core consideration for all marketers. In localized…
Nearly one in four small and medium-sized businesses offer a loyalty program according to our Local Commerce Monitor™ (LCM). Top industries that use loyalty are retail, construction/contracting, and accounting/bookkeeping. While there are a large number of loyalty-based apps and programs available…
This is the latest in BIA/Kelsey's Vantage Points series. On a semi-weekly basis, it will tap the perspectives of various lookout points from around the local media and tech sectors. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect that of BIA/Kelsey. Please contact mbolandATbiakelsey if…
Transforming ad sales from legacy media to digital aint easy. This can be seen in the relatively low success rate among media companies that sell both. This was the topic of a panel at the recent BIA/Kelsey ENGAGE (video below).…
In our Local Commerce Monitor™ (LCM) survey of small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) the use of social media by SMBs overall is strongly driven by Facebook. Seven out of ten SMBs in our full sample* report using at least one…
The Berry Company has followed the footsteps of many of its peers in the Global Yellow Pages industry and has changed its name -- seeking a new identify that is relevant today and reflects how the company has changed. Berry…
Workplaces throughout the tech and business worlds have been circulating Mary Meeker's famous annual "data dump" this week. For analysts, the Internet Trends Report is like Christmas... I've been spending lots of time with the slides. Rather than rehash 213…
YP continues its push to integrate content from popular consumer application, this week announcing a deal to include many of Groupon's active deals in search results on YP.com and the YPmobile app. Chicago-based Groupon has about 450,000 active deals. YP…
A couple weeks ago, at BIA/Kelsey ENGAGE, I made the comment that the local on-demand industry has achieved "peak-Uber," when the company seems inevitable and unbeatable but will be hard-pressed to continue to raise capital at the break-neck pace it…