The second and final day of the Localogy 20/20 virtual conference looked at how technology is driving change across the local ecosystem. Attendees heard about how AR may act as a force multiplier for home services.
We also got a peak into the driverless-car future and what it means to local commerce. And we also learned how high the stakes are for getting data privacy regulation right. Snap shared a look at its progress towards local commerce. And finally, we took a look at how linear, addressable and connected TV will converge for better consumer experiences.
Localogy senior analyst and Localogy 20/20 emcee Mike Boland shared a few of his key conference takeaways.
“One thing that’s becoming clear is that the winners in this environment are pivoting quickly, accelerating road maps or redeploying shelved products that meet the moment for Covid-era demand signals,” Mike said.
“And peaking of pivoting, another common theme of the conference was the accelerated digital transformation of the SMB. In scrambling to survive — just like tech vendors — they’re discovering new tools and technologies. The question likewise is if these new habits sustain in the long term.”
Day Two Roundup
Localogy’s analyst team joined forces to provide same day recaps and analysis of each session during the course of Day 2. Here is a quick taste of the coverage with links to the full posts on each session.
Reimagining the “In Home Services” Experience
Craig Smith, HomeAdvisor
Home services are (mostly) booming during the pandemic, while many other local sectors have been decimated. Technology hasn’t really disrupted home services. And it probably never will. Yet home services are so uncool (something Smith laments), that there is a looming, possibly catastrophic, labor shortage because the trades carry a blue-collar stigma…Continue reading
Modernizing Multi-Location Marketing
Monico Ho, SOCi
Christian Betancourt, Self Esteem Brands
As a marketer, you really must pay attention to the three primary platforms. Google and GMB, Facebook, and its associated platforms, and Yelp. I asked Christian from Self Esteem Brands (they run some 5,000 multi-location fitness and health-related studios around the country) what he thought of TikTok. He was extremely bullish on the opportunity TikTok offered and even revealed that the company was doing a number of tests on the platform…Continue reading
Store Attribution Marches On
David Shim, Foursquare
The location intelligence sector has been somewhat turbulent over the past year. It’s endured privacy-related headwinds from public sector measures (GDPR, CCPA) as well as private sector ones (iOS13). That was the case before a pandemic upended yet another data source: people engaged in local commerce. But according to Foursquare CEO David Shim, it’s more about a shift than a consumer spending standstill. That means it’s an opportunity for those who can take advantage of shifting ground to grab market share, which is precisely what we’ve seen from adaptive retailers…Continue reading
Privacy in a High Speed World
Michael Signorelli, Venable
James Ward, Ward PLLC
So you might be inclined to think there are better ways to spend half an hour than listening to two lawyers in sport coats talk about data privacy. More fun? Sure. Got me there. More important? That’s debatable given how critical the data privacy issue is to anyone working with stacks of customer data, and processing it faster and faster to make increasingly consequential real-time decisions…Continue reading
Out of Home – Finally a Seat at the Table?
Andy Sriubas, OUTFRONT Media
Now, digital out of home ads can adapt messages to time of day, changes in the weather, and other triggers that signal a change in content. The entire workflow is digitized. Messages can be moved around based on where the audience is… Continue reading
Technologies for SMBs in the Changing Physical World
David Galvan, Mastercard
Like many of us, Dave used to travel considerably – around the country and around the world. And when you meet people in person there are “visual cues” that help you assess a company founder. Those visual cues helped Dave to determine whether or not a business model or company had “legs”. Now he does this on phone calls. And he acknowledges this is not nearly as optimal an approach. So now he augments those phone meetings with companies by using his vast network of VCs, PEs, and incubators as a referral base upon which he can build relationships over the phone…Continue reading
The Intersection of Local & Social
Alex Dao, Snap
Snap continues to inch closer towards local commerce. Historic steps include geo-filters, and more recent moves include local lenses and business listings in Snap Map. Those features are notable on their own but get more interesting when considering the SMB promotional implications that come with them…Continue reading
Autonomous Automobiles
Mois Navon, Mobileye (an Intel Company)
As a “mobile device” the car can be the ultimate digital touchpoint to search for, discover, and shuttle us to local experiences. At least that’s the vision. But a lot has to converge to bring us that reality, as related and requisite technologies continue to develop in parallel…Continue reading
What Our Eyes and Ears are Experiencing
Rob Yarin, Cox Media Group
Brian Cordes, Xandr (a Warner Media Company)
Despite the growth in subscription-based streaming services, no one made the argument that TV advertising is dead. It’s changing. It’s becoming more targeting. But it isn’t dead. There is simply a limit on how much consumers will pay to avoid advertising…Continue reading
