MULO Brands Built Around Personalization Street Fight

Just For You: MULO Brands Built Around Personalization

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The Bear Cave is a grown-up version of the kids’ multi-location (MULO) brand Build-a-Bear. Personalization or the concept of making something unique as a gift or for yourself is nothing new. Most people like to think of themselves as unique beings with specialized tastes. Mainstream brands like Chipotle, Starbucks, and salad and ice cream franchises […]

The Franchise of the Future Street Fight

The Franchise of the Future

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The franchise MULO (multi-location) business model has been around since 1731 and boomed in the U.S. in 1960, with the formation of the International Franchise Association (or IFA). The IFA now represents 1,300 franchisors, 10,000 franchisees, and more than 600 professionals and suppliers to the industry, according to its website (which also features a robust […]

This MULO Diner Chain is Roaring Street Fight

BOOM: This MULO Diner Chain is Roaring

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The diner as a concept seems to be timeless.  Back in 1913, the first stationary diner was established and ultimately grew to 6,000 privately owned locations nationally. That’s a giant MULO (multi-location) venture! Fast forward to today. Although foodies have a wide range of options for where to eat — from single-unit locations to specific […]

Retail Media According to Skai Street Fight

BOOM: Retail Media According to Skai

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We often use “BOOM” to identify a category or store brand that’s thriving. But BOOMing can also apply to trends in media buying and creative. So, for 2024 we’ve expanded the term to cover that as well, so MULO (multi-location) brands and the agencies that work with them can identify how to better reach consumers […]

Judge Beauty Wants this e.l.f. on Your Shelf Street Fight

‘Judge Beauty’ Wants this e.l.f. on Your Shelf

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And the award for best non-sequitur in a Super Bowl ad this year goes to the TV personality known as Judge Judy: “Don’t pee on my leg and tell me it’s raining,” Judge Beauty said when learning a “defendant” claimed she needed to spend $92 on makeup products. The 30-second spot, “Judge Beauty,” was from […]

Retail Bankruptcies: Life in the 'Express' Lane: Street Fight

Retail Bankruptcies: Life in the ‘Express’ Lane

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Business and retail media are filled with stories of companies that are in the express lane towards restructuring and holding huge sales on their way toward bankruptcy. It has become such a popular topic of speculation that one online source even gives odds of bankruptcy filing. Over the past week, the media was placing odds […]

BOOM or BUST? Will the Mega MULO Crafts Store Survive?

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As tech-centric as the world has become, handcrafts are still alive and well! Just look at Etsy, which has been steadily growing. Although the MULO (multi-location) crafts industry is not unraveling like an unfortunate knitting project, online competition has put a pin prick into big box store revenues. The pandemic also eliminated many in-store events. Just […]

Opterus Puts the ‘Opps’ in Franchise Operations

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If you are a pet owner who resides in California, your pet’s needs will differ to some degree compared to those of a pet owner in the Northeast. For example, the fundamental level of care can change based on local weather differences, explained Gary Stonell, SVP Sales & Operations at Opterus, a SaaS-based company that […]

AtData Launches a New E-mail Marketing Tool

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E-mail marketing is not dead. It’s on the upswing. A whopping 362 billion (yes, billion) e-mails are expected to be sent EVERY DAY in 2024. But how do brands ensure the health of their e-mail marketing campaigns and ensure that their budgets are going toward those people not likely to simply dump your precious message […]

MULO / Multi-Location Grows Up

MULO Grows Up

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What the heck is MULO anyway?  MULO refers to multi-location businesses. They could be run by a corporate entity or franchises. MULO brands may be retailers, restaurants, health and wellness entities, personal services (like tutoring, tax prep, ear piercing,  hair styling, or even podcasting) or even entertainment centers like those offering pickleball, golf, and baseball. […]

What a Yahoo Exec Brings to Today’s Agencies

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Alia Lamborghini, SVP, Head of US Sales and Strategy at Yahoo explains why Jeff Rossi was brought in as VP of Global Agency Partnerships to focus specifically on agencies and agency integration. “Agencies require a dedicated partner to navigate issues like cookie deprecation, deliver on first-party data, and provide the transparency essential for supporting brands.  […]

Social Factor Partners with Emplifi to Fuel the Social Commerce Wave

Social Factor Partners with Emplifi to Fuel the Social Commerce Wave

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Social Factor, a prominent digital agency specializing in social CRM and strategy, has recently announced an agency-level partnership with Emplifi, a leading customer engagement platform. This partnership ties in with a shift in digital marketing, aiming to revolutionize customer engagement strategies through a social commerce-first approach. Social Factor, known for its expertise in working with […]

Vericast Collaborates with Snowflake to Transform Marketing Engagement

Vericast Collaborates with Snowflake to Transform Marketing Engagement

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Vericast, a prominent marketing technology company, has embarked on a partnership with Snowflake, the Data Cloud Company, to pioneer solutions aimed at empowering marketers to engage with consumers in more impactful ways. Leveraging technology innovations and exclusive data available in Snowflake Marketplace, the company is set to revolutionize marketing engagement, driving meaningful commerce across various […]

Optable Integration Ushers in a New Era of Privacy-Centric Advertising

Optable Integration Ushers in a New Era of Privacy-Centric Advertising

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Since Google’s announcement regarding the eventual end of third-party cookies, the advertising industry has been actively seeking alternatives to ensure continued effectiveness while respecting user privacy. Among the proposed solutions, data clean rooms have emerged as a promising avenue, offering a secure environment for data collaboration in the absence of traditional tracking methods. Optable, a […]

Swiftly Connects the Cart to the Screen for Save a Lot

Swiftly Connects the Cart to the Screen for Save a Lot

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Large multi-location (MULO) grocery stores have the resources to develop technologies that enable consumers to make their shopping lists, see sales and coupons, and arrange for delivery or pick-up. But smaller stores may have been at a disadvantage — that is until Swiftly stepped in.  Swiftly, a leading provider of innovative technologies, partnered with Save […]

Placer.ai, ESRI Form Analytics Partnership

Placer.ai, ESRI Form Analytics Partnership

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What do you get when you cross a location-analytics company with a company that uses sophisticated geographic-information system (GIS) technology? It’s no joke, and this isn’t a punchline: Placer.ai and ESRI have formed a partnership to provide advertisers and their partners with new and advanced analytics and insight. The goal is to get deeper insights […]

The MULO Dozen: January Brands in Review

The MULO Dozen: January Brands in Review

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2024 is off to a fast start! As MULO (multi-location) retailers, restaurants, and service businesses head into a new year, they face new challenges and opportunities. And, of course, “The Big Game,” when brands get to flex their creative and digital muscle. Here’s what we saw this month. Have news? Please e-mail me. Fridays is […]

Empowering Brick-and-Mortar Businesses with Foot-Traffic Analytics for Effective OOH

Empowering Brick-and-Mortar Businesses with Foot-Traffic Analytics for Effective OOH

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In today’s competitive marketplace, brick-and-mortar businesses constantly seek innovative strategies to attract and retain customers. Recognizing this need, DOmedia, in partnership with location analytics leader Placer.ai, has launched PeopleToMySpot.com—a innovative website tailored to help local marketers and business owners harness the power of foot-traffic analytics to enhance their out-of-home (OOH) advertising efforts. The collaboration between […]

More Evidence Online Advertising Finished Strong

More Evidence Online Advertising Finished Strong

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When Tinuiti released its Digital Ads Benchmark Report for Q4 2023 on Jan. 25, the findings offered still more proof that the year finished strong, at least for online advertising.  “While we did expect stronger growth in Q4 2023 as the ad market continues to recover from 2022, there were still questions heading into the […]

How Many Storefronts Do You Need? MULO Logic

How Many Storefronts Do You Need? MULO Logic

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The mattress company Purple became a huge success on Shopify when it first launched. It then expanded into retail locations. Last year, the company took a close look at its brick-and-mortar retail storefronts and saw that a third of its physical stores were struggling. Like many brick-and-mortar MULO (multi-location) businesses, expanding from online sales to retail […]