Facebook Debuts Local News Aggregator 'Today In' https://ift.tt/2SlC1uz Taking another crack at local news, Facebook's Today In will live within its flagship app. After limited testing, the local news aggregator feature is now available to Facebook users in roughly 400 cities nationwide. As for international users, Facebook is testing Today In in Australia before rolling it out more broadly. With “Today In,” Facebook isn’t only targeting busy news markets, according to Anthea Watson Strong, product manager, local news and community information at the tech titan. “We have started testing Today In in communities located in news deserts, places with a low supply of local news and community information, by supplementing with relevant content from surrounding areas,” Strong notes in a new blog post. advertisement advertisement Strong said “Today In” is a response to user demand for more local news and information. After conducting user research earlier in the year, Facebook found that over 50% of users expressed a desire for more local news -- more than any other type of content. Users said they wanted breaking news, city council meetings, crime reports, weather updates and the like, as well as community information such as bus schedules, road closures and restaurant openings, Facebook found. Separately, Facebook is also starting a test for local alerts from relevant government pages. “Local government Pages participating in the test can mark their posts as ‘local alerts’ at their discretion,” according to Strong. Pages can post up to 35 local alerts over a rolling 30-day period, as well as mark a post as a local alert for up to six hours. Strong assured that doing so will not affect the ranking of posts in the News Feed, noting that local alerts are not meant to replace emergency-alert systems. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/2oB2PsH November 29, 2018 at 01:31PM
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BBC News Premieres 'Cut Through The Noise,' A Weekly Series On Facebook Watch https://ift.tt/2RiFYQB BBC News is the first non-U.S. publisher to become a Facebook Watch partner. Tonight, the British news organization premieres “Cut Through the Noise,” a weekly show for U.S. audiences. The first episode focuses on the “gig economy” and is presented by BBC World News journalist Colleen Hagerty. The show will be presented from BBC News’ Washington, D.C. bureau or from the field. It is shot in vertical video for mobile viewing. Facebook Watch rolled out internationally in August, after being available in the U.S. for a year. The BBC joins a number of other publisher partners based in the U.S., such as ABC News and BuzzFeed. They are all part of an initiative, announced by Facebook earlier this year, to test a destination for video news content from trustworthy sources on the Watch platform. Facebook funds the news shows, which are available exclusively in a dedicated Facebook Watch section. “Cut Through the Noise” will be available for U.S. audiences here. advertisement advertisement BBC previously reported the revenue split is 55% to the creators and 45% to Facebook. “Social media is an important source of news and information for many Americans, so we are always looking for new ways of bringing our audiences high-quality, nonpartisan news coverage they can trust from around the world,” Jim Egan, CEO, BBC Global News, stated in September, when the “Cut Through the Noise” show was first announced. Each week, the show will tackle a different issue “that matters to U.S. audiences,” per a statement. This year, BBC World News was named the U.S.’ most trusted TV news brand in a consumer study created for MediaPost’s Research Intelligencer by Brand Keys. BBC World News was closely followed by Fox News and PBS. International audiences can watch “Cut Through the Noise” on the Facebook Watch platform by following the BBC News page and adding it to their Watchlist. New episodes will air every Thursday. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/2oB2PsH November 29, 2018 at 01:31PM Marketers Still Confused About SEO https://ift.tt/2ztWVAH About 20% of marketers say they do not have one specific search engine optimization strategy, but rather spread their ideas thins across a few. This clearly shows confusion in an industry that marketers are still trying to understand, per the study, according to data released this week. Moz earlier this week released the State of Local SEO report based on findings from responses of about 1,400 local marketers. The data is based on agency versus in-house, as well as company size. The findings show that marketers use a variety of strategies, but this data suggests there is confusion about the best types to use for specific campaigns and brands. When asked to name the tactics that are most helpful in their day-to-day work, on-site optimization ranked No. 1 with 19%, followed by website design with 12%. Technical analysis of ranking, traffic and conversions came at No. 3 with 12%, followed by local content development at No. 4 with 10% and social media, which rounded out the top 5 with 10%. advertisement advertisement Local link building came in with 9%, other at 7%, and email marketing with 6%. Other categories including citation management, reviews, technical needs, Google knowledge panel, schema, and in-store tech all came in with less than 5% each. Not surprisingly, most marketers plan to spend more time with efforts to better understand organic SEO. As Google becomes the homepage for businesses, marketers are increasing their commitment to understand and use SEO tools and strategies. As Google becomes more of a home page for local businesses, marketers are committed to leveling up their presence, learning about organic SEO and Google local features. For example, one in four -- or 24% -- of marketers responding to the survey plan to learn more about SEO. Some 14% said they will learn more about Google local features, while 12% will learn more about coding; 11% about link building; 11%, paid advertising and local services; 9%, mobile; 5%, human psychology, and 4%, other. Review management, email marketing, traditional PR, and in-store technology and metrics all rated between 1% and 3%. The percentages are low on some of the strategies because few companies review online reviews and now most companies ignore in-store technology like beacons and QR codes. Another point hurting companies, 17% of businesses don’t have a full time SEO person on staff. Only 26% have one. About 44% have between two and five specialists and 13% have six or more. Confusion and the inability to understand processes could be the reason why nearly 20% of in-house small business marketers report they make little to no use of SEO. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/2oB2PsH November 29, 2018 at 10:48AM OTT Video Viewers Younger, More Engaged https://ift.tt/2Qt5g1w
Nielsen, through its Nielsen Digital Content Ratings solution, studied the audience of the “connected living room,” examining households with internet-connected devices, like Roku, Apple TV, or gaming consoles. The company says its research now shows that American households collectively watch more than 8 billion hours of content each month through connected TV devices. In addition, connected TV devices are becoming the preferable way to watch video, with consumers watching more than an hour daily on those platforms, compared to 36 minutes on computers, and 24 minutes on mobile devices. advertisement advertisement Perhaps most interesting, at least for marketers, is that connected device users tend to skew young. Nielsen found that 7% of total-day viewership for five networks was viewed by consumers 25-34 years old. By comparison, viewership of the same content through connected TV devices had 19% of the audience in the 25-34 age bracket. A similar boost was prevalent when examining the 18-24 age brackets. “This is a major opportunity for TV publishers to amplify their content that premiered on live TV and maximize their reach by extending the programming to be seen on connected devices,” Nielsen said in a blog post. Separately, the Video Advertising Bureau conducted its own research into the relationship between linear TV and OTT video. The VAB found that consumers who watch both linear TV and OTT are “a more committed, engaged audience relative to the average adult.” The VAB report also found that a majority of viewers of ad-supported OTT services liked interacting with ads. They spent twice as long engaging with those ads as compared to similar ads elsewhere online. Both the Nielsen and VAB reports suggested that while there is significant overlap between linear TV viewers and OTT viewers, it can be used to the marketer’s advantage in order to reinforce key messaging. In addition, where there is not overlap, buying OTT or CTV advertising can drive incremental reach, with audiences — particularly younger audiences — watching video content on devices they may not be watching on linear TV. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/2oB2PsH November 29, 2018 at 10:48AM
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Did Influencer Marketing Just Grow Up? https://ift.tt/2zxR9hM It happens to all digital marketing channels as they mature, and influencer marketing is no exception, it would appear. Although all the headlines have been about cutting out fake "bot" accounts, there is a more profound change happening to influencers. It is moving beyond organic reach to enter the realms of paid-for media. Straight away, however, it's worth flagging up that the deletion of 745m fake accounts at Instagram is a huge step in the right direction, as is warning account holders that actions could be taken against them if they buy likes or pass their password to third parties. The latter will generally go around following lots of accounts for the account holder, and then unfollowing them, in the hope that in the meantime a "followed" account returns the favour and follows them back. So this is a massive step in the right direction, but I would argue that something equally as interesting is happening among marketers using influencers, although they will of course be very focussed on deletions of fake accounts that can be used to make some influencers look more influential than they really are. Here's the new direction. Only a fraction of an influencer's total number of followers will ever see a post. That's the nature of the beast -- timelines fill up with other content and algorithms are designed to ensure users get relevant information, not only those from a celeb with a massive following. I've been talking with my "go to" guy about influencers, Ryan Detert, CEO of Influential. His take is interesting. The majority of influencer campaigns he now runs for blue-chip clients will have at least as much budget going on paid-for boosts to posts as they do on signing up the influencer. With organic only going so far, brands are realising the power of a sponsored, boosted post to reach target audiences. His generic example is if a yoga brand has signed up some influential yoga experts, their content will be authentic and powerful, but it will only go so far. Tap into a social media platform's targeting back-end, however, and that content can be sent out to a huge audience -- say, millennial mothers who love yoga, or whatever the niche is. Our talk was interesting because it threw up a new breed of influencer who is rising to the top. The "micro" or "macro" influencers will have followings below a "mega" celebrity, but can still have several thousands or even hundreds of thousands of fans. They will generally have a speciality and can create authentic mobile video footage that sits perfectly well among other footage shot on mobile phones. If the quality is too high, and it looks like a Netflix drama, people instantly realise there is a big-budget celebrity endorsement coming up. Celebrities are still incredibly useful for reach and PR, but if a brand wants to get a regular stream of content to share with targeted social media users, these micro and macro influencers are now looking like the best option to open up their followers and then to go further and also have content boosted to a wider, targeted audience. The best bit for me is that while I have a lot of time for some celebrities who are insanely talented, I do find the whole "hold this bottle and say it smells great" kind of influencer marketing rather boring. However, if you get down to the level of someone who is truly passionate and knowledgeable about a niche, you can only end up being able to share compelling, authentic content that goes way beyond a picture of a pop star sipping a carbonated beverage. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/2oB2PsH November 29, 2018 at 09:16AM
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Op-Ed: Why Cannabis/CBD Is One Of The Fastest Growing Categories Of Our Lifetime https://ift.tt/2QlL7KL Jeffrey Hill, CEO of Hill-3 Investments, explains the enormous potential within the cannabis and CBD space, and how increasing understanding of its use across health and fitness industries combined with its financial impact at state and federals are driving its meteoric growth As many of you know, I run Hill-3 Investments, a family office that focuses on three verticals: Cannabis, Fitness and Healthcare. What has become very clear to me is that all three of these businesses are now morphing into one. The driving force behind this: the medicinal value of cannabis/CBD and the incredible growth these categories are experiencing and will continue to experience going forward. The legal U.S. cannabis industry (not to mention the stunning growth in many other parts of the world) is experiencing incredible momentum. Combined retail sales of cannabis products were estimated to be $8.5 billion in 2017, with most experts conservatively projecting 21% CAGR through 2022 equating to a $22 billion business, and if taken it out to 2030, $80-100 billion is very likely within reach. 31 states have legalized cannabis for medicinal and or recreational use. Several current states are pursuing additional ballot initiatives in the upcoming election, which will continue this momentum. Historically, cannabis has been constrained by the industry’s lack of access to capital, and the federal government, which still identifies cannabis as a Class 1 drug. This has rapidly begun to change. Over the past several years, cannabis firms based in the U.S. have begun to list shares on Canadian exchanges (where cannabis is considered legal medicinally and recreationally throughout the entire country). Additionally, Americans are now far more accepting of cannabis. A recent Maris pole conducted in 2017 suggested 83% of Americans approve of cannabis for medical use, and 49% agreed with recreational use. There are two key dynamics behind these trends. One is an increasing understanding of the medicinal value of cannabis and CBD (which comes from both marijuana and hemp). Hundreds of articles have been written about cannabis and CBD as the new miracle drugs of the next 10 years. While currently being tested by Ph. Ds around the world, cannabis has had hundreds of tests that help prove the therapeutic benefits for several diseases, including epilepsy, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis, pain management, Huntington’s disease, anxiety, depression and cancer. Second, there is the financial impact that cannabis is having at the state level. In states with mature legal programs like Colorado, Oregon and Washington, cumulative tax receipts have been approximately $1.3 billion. According to New Frontier Data, if legalized, the federal government would stand to gain over $130 billion from combined retail, payroll and business taxes associated with cannabis businesses between 2017-2025. The connection for me is quite remarkable. I hope I have made the case that cannabis, my primary vertical of focus, connects to healthcare, but it also will be inextricably linked to fitness over the next 10 years. More trainers, and physical therapists are experiencing the value to their clients of using THC and CBD to address inflammation, the nemesis of any athlete. They are increasingly recommending oral, transdermal and topical doses prior to or immediately following a workout. The recovery time for athletes is quite remarkable. In tests done among athletes who are treated with cannabis/CBD right after exertion, vs. a control group of those that were not, recovery times were increased significantly. I could go on for some time about the trends and issues. But if you want to learn, more simply email me and we can get into a conversation. Jeffrey Hill is an accomplished executive and investor, with a 40 year career including time spent as a senior marketing executive with corporations including P&G and Tambrands. Since 2001, he has been CEO and president of Hill-3 Holdings, which focuses on funding ventures in the health, fitness, and cannabis industries. Over the past five years, Hill has become a leading voice in the growing cannabis and CBD categories in particular. For more from Jeffrey, read the original article here, and check out what else he has written regarding the intersection of healthcare, cannabis and fitness, as well as the enormous potential of this category. Lead image: indoor marijuana growing stock photo from photolona/Shutterstock As many of you know, I run Hill-3 Investments, a family office that focuses on three verticals: Cannabis, Fitness and Healthcare. What has become very clear to me is that all three of these businesses are now morphing into one. The driving force behind this: the medicinal value of cannabis/CBD and the incredible growth these categories are experiencing and will continue to experience going forward. Mobile Marketing via PSFK http://www.psfk.com/ November 29, 2018 at 06:37AM
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Interview: Inside CVS’s (Millennial-Geared) ‘BeautyIRL’ Stores https://ift.tt/2QxA8y1 Maly Bernstein, vice president of beauty and personal care, discusses the retailer's radical makeover of the category via new concept stores featuring trendy brands and immersive experiences—including Glamsquad salon services A “trending now” wall of Instagram-driven makeup brands, K-Beauty shops curated by Korean-beauty influencer Alicia Yoon. Sounds like the makings of some hipster DTC upstart? Try CVS. The drugstore chain’s four new BeautyIRL stores introduce a radical makeover of the category, nearly doubling the space devoted to the business in a redesign that spotlights indie brands and on-demand salon services via a new partnership with Glamsquad. Taking a page from specialty chains like Sephora and Ulta: The concept stores reimagine beauty to encourage shopper discovery of new brands and trends, playing host to popup shops and fresh “breakthrough” experiences, like a Test-And-Play hygiene bar. In recent years, the drugstore chain has worked to elevate the beauty departments across its store fleet, adding more niche, organic brands and trend-driven displays. Maly Bernstein, vice president of beauty and personal care for CVS Health, spoke with PSFK on how the BeautyIRL stores mark a dramatic evolution of that push, with the goal of expanding the concept to more stores next year and beyond. PSFK: How does the new store concept reflect CVS’s overall direction in beauty and its competitive positioning in the marketplace today? What are some of the biggest growth opportunities in beauty that are reflected in the store? Maly Bernstein: I think overall, it’s an incredibly exciting time in beauty—giving retailers like CVS Pharmacy a way to revolutionize the in-store beauty experience. Because of social influence, the beauty customer has rapidly evolving expectations of what they want to experience in store, and meeting those customer expectations is at the very heart of the BeautyIRL store design. We wanted customers to be able to discover and play with popular, social beauty brands and trends in real life—making them more accessible and tangible. We didn’t look at this project as just a new merchandising strategy—our team put a lot of thought into how we could make our customers feel inspired and have fun. Taking ideas from outside of beauty, we have a carnival cart of bath bombs, a newsstand of K-Beauty facial masks, hanging K-Beauty hand creams inspired by hanging paint tubes. Our partnership with Glamsquad also uniquely positions us in the market, allowing us to give our customers personalized access to professional makeup artists for beauty expertise and product recommendations. It’s a tremendous opportunity for us to deliver an omnichannel service experience to customers. What’s behind the move to add hair and makeup services in partnership with Glamsquad, and how does this reflect a changing shopper? We are committed to providing a next-generation beauty experience—which is why we are excited about our exclusive retail partnership with Glamsquad, a technology-driven beauty services company and community of beauty professionals. They are leaders in on-demand beauty services and we are partnering with them to unlock their expertise and capabilities to create new beauty services and experiences for our customers. Services offered in these new BeautyIRL stores will include express hair styling, makeovers and mini services. Currently, we are testing ways to ensure a seamless customer experience at each store, including both walk-in service and “book-in-advance” digital options. Since its launch in 2014, Glamsquad has disrupted the beauty industry by using technology to deliver personalized and convenient beauty service experiences to customers, making an exciting partner for us. CVS’s partnership with GlamSquad underscores the importance of retail’s evolution in offering differentiating services and experiences, including within the beauty space. This partnership is an opportunity to deliver an omnichannel service experience to existing and new customers and provide an avenue for customer application and sampling of the new product offerings. Last year’s mock prototype store in New York City showcased beauty trends and what’s buzzing on social networks. What’s on the “TrendingNow” wall in the BeautyIRL stores and why? I am incredibly lucky to have a team of true beauty lovers who naturally follow social trends and who are already familiar with the new, niche brands that are emerging online—our passion for beauty unites and excites us. In our BeautyIRL stores, we wanted to create a mix of classic and new, socially driven brands making their mark in the evolving beauty landscape—especially among millennials and Gen Z. This is a job that’s never considered complete as we’re continuously looking to discover and feature up-and-coming, relevant brands both in these new BeautyIRL stores and across our national footprint. We looked at what brands were being coveted online—with robust social following—and offered the latest in color, ingredients, hydration, scents at prices that invite our customers to try the trends and treat themselves. On our “now trending” wall, we wanted to create a destination in-store where customers can discover and test these new brands themselves. On the wall, and throughout the new BeautyIRL stores, you’ll see new brands like StoryBook, Zoella, Karity, Zum and other new indie brands we have introduced across our national footprint like Peri Pera, Crème Shoppe and Wunder2. Is the “create your own” sample bar a nod to the rise of subscription-box services? Mini-beauty products are hot right now—and we wanted to have fun with the concept, allowing our customers to create their own perfect mix of fun travel sized products in a cute, free-with-purchase cosmetics bag that comes in three sizes and will feature a new, fresh pattern and design throughout the year. For $5, $10 or $15 customers can fill a small, medium or large bag with a mix of our 168 fun beauty must-haves—like dry shampoo and face masks—from more than 60 brands like DaBomb Bath Fizz, Formula 10.0.6, Frudia, JiiNJU and Hask. It’s a fun concept we thought would be ideal for travel, make a great gift or just indulge a beauty lover’s desire to try new brands and product. Tell us more about the testers. Testers and hygiene bars, featuring micellar water, mirrors and cotton rounds are available to inspire play and exploration of all of the new brands and products. CVS beauty consultants staff these locations and are trained to ensure testers remain clean and hygienic. What do you hope to gain from this four-store test in terms of enhancing CVS’s beauty performance? This year our beauty business is growing faster than the market, gaining share across nearly all of our beauty categories. Beauty is an important part of our front-store sales growth strategy, and a primary way for us to attract younger millennial and Gen Z customers. We are also looking for ways to engage with new, emerging brands with a strong social community and to help make them even more accessible to beauty enthusiasts nationwide. What’s the rollout strategy for the format? Our approach is always to test and learn and that’s what we will do with these stores, with the goal of expanding in 2019 and beyond. CVS is just one major retailer responding to consumer trends with updated merchandising and store design. For more ideas from similar inspirational brands, see PSFK’s reports and newsletters. Mobile Marketing via PSFK http://www.psfk.com/ November 29, 2018 at 06:23AM Forecast: IPhone Sales Set To Decline https://ift.tt/2RgZmOc Judging by the additional dollars that Apple is pouring into TV ads, the tech titan is having a harder time getting U.S. consumers excited about its latest iPhones. That’s according to fresh analysis from ad intelligence firm MediaRadar, which shows that Apple increased its TV ad budget by more than 500% to promote the iPhone X, XS, XS Max, and XR, compared to the money it spent pushing the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus. Even though the iPhone X was discontinued in September, the X series was boosted by 12 TV ads for every 3 ads that supported 8 and 8 Plus. For the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, Apple produced three unique TV spots, while, for the X, XS, XS Max, and XR, it has produced 12 so far, with more expected, as the XR was just recently released. Meanwhile, with Apple’s self-produced iPhone TV commercials, co-branded by one of four national wireless carriers, MediaRadar found that AT&T spent over $85 million -- making it the largest promoter of the iPhone X, XS, XS Max, and XR. advertisement advertisement AT&T did not run any iPhone 8 or 8 Plus ads produced by Apple in the last year, but it did run its own, AT&T-produced ads that made mention of the 8 and 8 Plus. The insight into Apple’s ad strategy follows a number of ominous signs regarding the company’s future iPhone sales. In a recent note to investors, Guggenheim analyst Robert Cihra recently projected that iPhone sales were set to decline by 5% from Apple’s fiscal year 2018 to fiscal year 2019. “We see growing risk of even softer iPhone unit demand, with downside in China, India and other emerging markets, where Apple may need to start considering lower price points,” Cihra warned. Among other issues, Cihra said Apple was having a harder time selling its priciest iPhones, while its historically average selling price will no longer be enough to offset sagging sales. Both Goldman and UBS also recently suggested that Apple would likely sell fewer iPhones than previously expected. Still, Todd Krizelman, CEO and co-founder of MediaRadar, suggested other possible reasons for Apple’s recent ad sales boost. Regarding Apple’s latest iPhone lines, Krizelman notes in the new report: “The difference in TV investment might be caused by the differentiation in this line.” Added Krizelman: “Apple has had to promote four different devices, overall.” Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/2oB2PsH November 28, 2018 at 09:32PM
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Tide's Loads Of Hope Arrival At Wildfires Marks A Big Year For Disasters https://ift.tt/2RigXoM
So for Ben Williams, the disaster relief coordinator for humanitarian aid organization Matthew 25: Ministries, it will soon be time for him to be packing up. Probably after this weekend, since right now “there’s still demand for us.” Williams is not a minister. He is, instead, in charge of Tide detergent’s Loads of Hope mobile laundry unit, which offers victims of disasters who’ve lost everything they own a simple joy: the ability to clean their clothes, if they even have any left. Marketing cynics of cause marketing might question whether fresh clothes are a big deal to victims of the California fires. But Williams is unequivocal: “Clean clothes really have an impact on these people. These are people who have been living in their cars or living in shelters. Clean clothes really gives them a lift.” advertisement advertisement The ministries’ relationship with the P&G brand’s trucks has existed since 2015. Counting all the other disasters he and his aides have attended to this year Williams can now report that as of Tuesday, the two Tide trucks have washed 4,000 loads of clothes this year for victims of floods, fires, hurricanes and other sad events. One truck is near the Camp Fire, the other at the Woolsey fire in southern California. P&G says the trucks have been out for 48 days this year leading up to their arrival at the fires. That’s a record number of loads for the time Williams and ministry have been involved, and probably a record since Tide started the disaster service in 2005. “It does seem like the intensity of the disasters has increased in the last couple of years,” he says, but he’s not ready to say there have more since he's gone on the road. P&G also gives victims other personal care, hygiene and household cleaner products. Once the trucks pull out, P&G keeps supplying local churches, with the Cincinnati-based ministry’s coordination. Williams says the ministry doesn’t proselytize on the scene. “We try to minister through our actions. We adhere to Christian principles, that we’re all called to help,” Williams says. “It’s challenging to see what people are going through. We give them a hug, a smile, a handshake. But you know, in these disaster areas, the communities become so tight-knit. It’s really cool to see.” A few brands send similar trucks to disaster scenes. Wells Fargo today says it is sending its 75-foot long Mobile Response truck to Chico to help residents with mortgage, loan, and credit card assistance. William's ministry also helps Cintas, at the disaster scene with donated goods. The company makes uniforms and sells an array of office and industrial supplies,. A couple of days ago, the Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. announced it would create the Resilience Butte County Proud IPA craft brew, with 100% of the proceeds going to help survivors there, the county that is home to the Camp Fire area. And, coordinated by Sierra Nevada, over 1,000 other craft brewers across the country joined to announce the creation of their own special versions. Williams says area residents are starting to feel an “initial release that it’s over, for what that’s worth.” Still, “Then they begin to ask ‘What’s next?’ and they can get even more stressed than before.” What does Willliams take away from all the disasters he’s seen? “What you learn is that you don’t know what will happen, so you have to show your love to everybody you come in contact with each and every day.” Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/2oB2PsH November 28, 2018 at 04:40PM Congress Urged To Examine T-Mobile's Planned Merger https://ift.tt/2AA27mG Consumer advocacy groups are urging House Democrats to convene a hearing to examine T-Mobile's proposed $26 billion acquisition of Sprint. “Announcing hearings to examine the single largest pending wireless telecommunications merger, and one of the largest in the nation’s history, would be an excellent first step to implementing your vision for stronger antitrust enforcement, protecting consumers, promoting competition, and standing up for American workers,” Consumer Reports, Free Press, Public Knowledge and other groups write in a letter sent Wednesday to Representatives Jerry Nadler (D-New York) and Frank Pallone (D-New Jersey). T-Mobile and Sprint said in April they had agreed to merge, leaving the country with only three major wireless carriers. The carriers have around 100 million wireless customers combined, while Verizon has roughly 116 million and AT&T has around 93 million. advertisement advertisement T-Mobile and Sprint previously tried to join forces in 2014, when Sprint agreed to acquire T-Mobile for around $32 billion. The companies canceled their plans after federal regulators expressed antitrust concerns. Pallone, seen as likely to lead the Energy and Commerce Committee next year, previously called for hearings on the proposed deal. “We have not held a single hearing to examine the state of competition ... or how a loss of a competitor could affect consumers or workers,” he wrote in an April letter to Representatives Greg Walden (R-Oregon), outgoing leader of the Energy and Commerce Committee and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee), outgoing leader of the Communications and Technology Subcommittee. T-Mobile and Sprint say they plan to invest nearly $40 billion to roll out a nationwide high-speed 5G network. But Public Knowledge and other advocacy groups opposed to the merger say the deal will lead to higher prices for consumers, poorer service and fewer incentives for the carriers to invest in their networks. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/2oB2PsH November 28, 2018 at 03:44PM |
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