Online Advertising for Local Businesses: Choosing the Right Deal Site

Posted on March 2, 2011 by Eric Aubertin, CEO of OneBigPlanet

daily deal sites

The numbers don’t lie: advertising for local businesses is gaining steam. According to TPG Marketing, traditional media like TV and magazines ads have dropped by 11 and 15 percent, respectively whereas online and phone advertising are still going strong at a rise of 11 and 18 percent, respectively.

A large portion of the money flowing into online advertising is due to the increasing interest in daily deals and group buying. Several major web properties like Google and Facebook have begun exploring this market, with incumbents like Groupon and LivingSocial adding in new features to keep out the competition. Local and hyperlocal deal sites that cater to certain verticals like organic produce or fashion are carving their own niche in the space as well. Continue reading →

Posted in Daily Deals, Facebook Deals, Google Offers, Local, Local Business, Social Commerce | Leave a comment

Changing the Way We Consume: Near-Field Communication and Deals

Posted on February 25, 2011 by Eric Aubertin, CEO of OneBigPlanet

nfc mobile

Near-field communications or NFC is getting a lot of buzz these days with Apple announcing that it will be including the technology in the next iteration of the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. Apple will be setting the stage for this new technology, opening it up to users in the same way that it has popularized touchscreen devices, mobile app stores and video calling. Google is also spreading the word, with the next-generation version of its Android mobile platform bringing NFC support to future devices.

For those unfamiliar with this technology, NFC enables two compatible devices, like a smartphone and a NFC-tagged poster, talk to one another and exchange information securely. It is similar to the technology used by hotels that use electronic key cards for room access. The difference is that NFC allows for a greater bandwidth of information, thus making the process secure enough for other uses including identity verification and mobile transactions. Continue reading →

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Google and Facebook Diving Into Deals – Anything New?

Posted on February 22, 2011 by Eric Aubertin, CEO of OneBigPlanet

google offers facebook deals

There’s a lot of activity going on in the deals space right now. On top of the dozens (even hundreds) of coupon sites sprouting up here and there, big players are slowly closing in to take advantage of the popularity of daily deals.

Google will soon be launching their own deals service called Google Offers. Right now, it is in the testing phase and it aims to give local businesses a direct way of offering discount coupons via Google Maps. It’s more of a local deals discovery service though since offers are more toned down compared to the usual heavily discounted coupons that group buying sites provide. You may recall that Groupon spurned the search giant’s $6 billion take over bid a while back. Continue reading →

Posted in Daily Deals, Facebook Deals, Google Offers, Social Commerce | Leave a comment