News and Analysis

Halloween 2025 Begins and Results are Not Scary

Halloween 2025 Begins and Results are Not Scary

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“Summerween” is a term explored by Retail Next. You’ve probably noticed that Halloween pumpkins rapidly replaced flip-flops as early as July. It’s no wonder. The holiday results in as much as $12B in annual spending, and retailers are looking to get their share of the sales treat bag. A recent study  (reported in that RetailNext […]

StreetFight LIVE'25: 12 Trends & Disruptive Ideas To Watch

StreetFight LIVE’25: 12 Trends & Disruptive Ideas To Watch

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Street Fight LIVE 2025 attracted the best and the brightest thought leaders from across the MULO (multi-location) ecosystem.  We deliberately curated and invited a select, diverse group of dynamic senior executives from retail, restaurant, service, agency, and technology businesses to share their perspectives on the future trends and disruptive ideas for MULO brands in an […]

Survey: Voters Feel ‘Worse Off’ Compared to Early 2025

Survey: Voters Feel ‘Worse Off’ Compared to Early 2025

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President Donald Trump has a personality problem, according to the latest Voters Trend Report from Resonate, a technology company combines big data and psychographic survey studies to develop an understanding of consumer motivations. Survey responses found that half of respondents expressed dissatisfaction with his personal behavior. Only 13% are satisfied, leaving more than a third […]

Commentary

Independent Agencies Are Getting Boxed Out of Adtech

Independent Agencies Are Getting Boxed Out of Adtech

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Adtech wasn’t built for the local shop on Main Street. It was built for the holding company on Madison Avenue. Independent agencies—fast-moving, deeply embedded in their communities, and focused on outcomes—have always punched above their weight. But today’s advertising infrastructure doesn’t support how they operate. From minimum spend requirements and opaque supply paths to bloated platforms […]

Streets Ahead: ChatGPT, AI-Generated meta descriptions and AI Mode reshaping search

Streets Ahead: ChatGPT, AI-Generated meta descriptions and AI Mode

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In this week’s Streets Ahead update, SOCi discusses OpenAI expanding the ChatGPT ecosystem, Google experimenting with AI-Generated meta descriptions in search results and Google’s AI Mode reshaping how people search OpenAI Expands ChatGPT’s Ecosystem The News  OpenAI has unveiled a major expansion of the ChatGPT experience with the launch of in-app integrations and a new […]

AI Is Breaking Down Data Silos — Without Breaking Privacy

AI Is Breaking Down Data Silos — Without Breaking Privacy

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The world of marketing has quickly moved away from legacy, invasive practices that took liberties with customer data, and into a new, privacy-first era. Direct collaborations based on first-party data have become the most effective way for brands and media owners to identify shared customers, develop audience insights, and plan, activate, and measure campaigns. While […]

Latest Posts

No Cure for Rite Aid's Ills?

BUST: No Cure for Rite Aid’s Ills?

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Sometimes businesses, like people, simply don’t respond to health “treatment.”  Rite Aid may, sadly, be among those brands. Founded in 1962 (under the name “Thrift D Discount Center”), they were once the third-largest drugstore chain in the U.S., operating 1,200 locations. The category of health and wellness itself is still going strong, but in 2023, […]

Independent Agencies Are Getting Boxed Out of Adtech

Independent Agencies Are Getting Boxed Out of Adtech

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Adtech wasn’t built for the local shop on Main Street. It was built for the holding company on Madison Avenue. Independent agencies—fast-moving, deeply embedded in their communities, and focused on outcomes—have always punched above their weight. But today’s advertising infrastructure doesn’t support how they operate. From minimum spend requirements and opaque supply paths to bloated platforms […]

Halloween 2025 Begins and Results are Not Scary

Halloween 2025 Begins and Results are Not Scary

Share this:

“Summerween” is a term explored by Retail Next. You’ve probably noticed that Halloween pumpkins rapidly replaced flip-flops as early as July. It’s no wonder. The holiday results in as much as $12B in annual spending, and retailers are looking to get their share of the sales treat bag. A recent study  (reported in that RetailNext […]

StreetFight LIVE'25: 12 Trends & Disruptive Ideas To Watch

StreetFight LIVE’25: 12 Trends & Disruptive Ideas To Watch

Share this:

Street Fight LIVE 2025 attracted the best and the brightest thought leaders from across the MULO (multi-location) ecosystem.  We deliberately curated and invited a select, diverse group of dynamic senior executives from retail, restaurant, service, agency, and technology businesses to share their perspectives on the future trends and disruptive ideas for MULO brands in an […]

Streets Ahead: ChatGPT, AI-Generated meta descriptions and AI Mode reshaping search

Streets Ahead: ChatGPT, AI-Generated meta descriptions and AI Mode

Share this:

In this week’s Streets Ahead update, SOCi discusses OpenAI expanding the ChatGPT ecosystem, Google experimenting with AI-Generated meta descriptions in search results and Google’s AI Mode reshaping how people search OpenAI Expands ChatGPT’s Ecosystem The News  OpenAI has unveiled a major expansion of the ChatGPT experience with the launch of in-app integrations and a new […]

Survey: Voters Feel ‘Worse Off’ Compared to Early 2025

Survey: Voters Feel ‘Worse Off’ Compared to Early 2025

Share this:

President Donald Trump has a personality problem, according to the latest Voters Trend Report from Resonate, a technology company combines big data and psychographic survey studies to develop an understanding of consumer motivations. Survey responses found that half of respondents expressed dissatisfaction with his personal behavior. Only 13% are satisfied, leaving more than a third […]

AI Is Breaking Down Data Silos — Without Breaking Privacy

AI Is Breaking Down Data Silos — Without Breaking Privacy

Share this:

The world of marketing has quickly moved away from legacy, invasive practices that took liberties with customer data, and into a new, privacy-first era. Direct collaborations based on first-party data have become the most effective way for brands and media owners to identify shared customers, develop audience insights, and plan, activate, and measure campaigns. While […]

Amperity Gets Personal with Seahawks’ Fans

Amperity Gets Personal with Seahawks’ Fans

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The Seattle Seahawks are celebrating their 50th anniversary. A lot has changed in marketing over those years, with sophisticated systems that can reach fans at various touchpoints in their ticket-buying journey. Amperity, a customer-data platform, is enabling the Seahawks’ back-office to unify fan information from ticketing, retail, digital, and other systems to create a single, accurate […]

First Watch is a Brand to Watch

BOOM: First Watch is a Brand to Watch

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Founded in 1983, First Watch has quietly and steadily expanded to approximately 500 locations across 29 states. The success is, in part, attributable to the ever-growing popularity of breakfast as a restaurant category. Although the brand still lags behind one of its oldest (1969) and most formidable (600+ stores in 49 states) competitor Cracker Barrel, […]

Streets Ahead: Google AI Mode , OpenAI & Commerce, TikTok

Streets Ahead: Google AI Mode , OpenAI & Commerce, TikTok

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In this week’s Streets Ahead update, SOCi discusses Google expanding AI Mode from search to transactions, OpenAI  pushing into commerce and clarity around TikTok in the U.S. Google Expands AI Mode from Search to Transactions The News  Google is extending the capabilities of its AI Mode with two experimental features designed to push conversational search […]