There are a number of new or re-energized hyperlocal efforts out there, trying to crack the code. New efforts are expected shortly from Outside.in and SmallTown. Ongoing efforts are being made with AmericanTowns, which counts Idearc as a lead investor; and Dallas’ Pegasus News, which is owned by Fisher Communications. CitySquares in Boston continues […]
Monthly Archives: April 2008
Google Struggles in Radio; Bid4Spots Gains Favor
April 10, 2008 – 5:03 pm
Google’s ambitious effort to take its bidding system across media might be hitting a bump in radio. The company’s program started out fairly well when Google bought dMarc (since renamed Google Audio Ads) for $102 million plus incentives in 2006. Since then, it must be doing something right. It claims affiliations with 1,600 FM and […]
Trulia Launches StreetView: The Street You Might Live On
April 9, 2008 – 8:25 pm
Trulia, the real estate portal, has added a new “StreetView” feature that enables home buyers to not only check out a house, but navigate up and down the street and neighborhood. The feature was built on the API from Google Maps, which was released in late March. Trulia’s StreetView is now in 40 markets, including […]
Arbitron Redefining Radio’s Pitch to Local Advertisers
April 9, 2008 – 5:56 pm
The rise of Web-oriented behavioral targeting and the tough economics and unwieldiness of user diaries and phone calls has pushed radio ratings giant Arbitron to focus less on radio station ranking and more on providing qualitative data about specific local businesses. The shift might have ramifications across all media, especially in smaller markets.
Leveraging its ownership […]
Cobalt, Marchex Take Pay-Per-Call to Auto Dealers
April 4, 2008 – 10:59 pm
We thought there must be a reason why VoiceStar, Marchex’s Pay Per Call unit, had such a prominent presence at the North American Dealer Association (NADA) show in February. Now we know: The company has just formed a reseller partnership with The Cobalt Group, which provides services to 40 percent of U.S. auto dealers.
Internet […]
Vertical Case Study: SpaBoom Web-Enables Local Spas
April 1, 2008 – 9:38 pm
Spas have always been a leading advertising category for city guides and other local sites. In many cases, they are virtually the only break-through for “services.” The rest may be dominated by restaurants and bars.
But the spas themselves have more upside to explore from online marketing. Gift certificates are especially hot. Spa […]
BIA ‘08 Exec Forum: ‘Use Radio to Drive Users to the Web’
April 1, 2008 – 4:25 am
Radio stations selling Internet packages to advertisers such as car and furniture dealers should focus on “high engagement” inventory, and generally work to engage their users like online air talent did during radio’s golden era, according to Emmis Interactive’s Deborah Esayian. Emmis Interactive is the online arm of Emmis Communications, the ninth largest radio broadcast […]