Twitter Goes Local; Microsoft Adds To CRM Platform

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign-up here.

Small-Town Tweeting

Not to be outdone by other social networks, Twitter is strengthening its local advertising ability with a new feature called Nearby, Digiday reports. The map feature shows users what others are tweeting about in their vicinity. This could open up a host of advertising options from local businesses and even national chains with a local presence, such as Macy’s or Starbucks. “Nearby sends a stronger signal versus Foursquare,” said Dirk Rients, director of mobile at DDB. “With a tweet, there’s more context. It’s more than just location; you can tie location to the mood of the user.” Read more.

Buying Customer Service

Microsoft has acquired customer service SaaS Parature for $100 million, which will add to its CRM platform. According to TechCrunch, the new acquisition will allow Microsoft to communicate with customers through multiple channels at the same scale as a complex call center. One area that is still lacking is commerce, according to Ray Wang, founder of Constellation Research. Read more. And read about it in Destination CRM.

Nontraditional Display

In PandoDaily, Infolinks CEO (and former Blue Lithium and Yahoo exec) Dave Zinman weaves a story about his company’s tech and its “take” on the display ad. Zinman uses a consumer survey his company undertook, and Pando’s Cale Guthrie Weissman writes, “In short, the survey found that non-traditionally placed ads – those that aren’t in the usual ‘ad banner’ spaces of above or to the side of websites – performed much better than traditional ones. Further, it found that people just didn’t like traditional ads.” Read more. Read Zinman’s 2012 interview about “banner blindness” with AdExchanger here.

Local Motion

Yodle is taking marketing automation to the local level with its new Centermark product, according to Screenwerk. “The platform provides a source of shared data, communication and reporting that facilitates informed conversations between all the partners on the network,” the company told Greg Sterling. The service is also billed as a SaaS licensing model rather than being based on performance. Read more.

The Loyalty Factor

Nielsen is going beyond basic TV ratings by tracking loyalty to networks as well, according to Ad Age. The first study it conducted included 75 cable entertainment networks and the results showed that USA Network came in first place, with Bravo close behind. However, TBS ranked fifth out of 75, despite the fact that it is poised to have the No. 1 ratings slot. “This is not a replacement for ratings, but a compliment [sic] to better assess the quality of the environment,” said David Kaplan, VP for research at Bravo. Read more.