News and Analysis

Caffeine and Commerce: MULO Coffee Perks Street Fight

Caffeine and Commerce: MULO Coffee Perks

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Starbucks and Dunkin may be the giant-size MULO (multi-location) players in the brew space (with 38K and 13K locations respectively). However, coffee is a staple of many consumers’ routines and represents a market size of close to $500B. Many regional and national players are heating up the field and coffee brands are offering a wide […]

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Birdeye Social : Insights into Social Media Management

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The significance of a robust social media presence cannot be overstated, particularly for multi-location brands aiming to connect with local audiences. Acknowledging the complexities of managing social media across diverse locations, Birdeye, a leading reputation and customer experience platform for local businesses, has just introduced Birdeye Social. With this move, the company is aiming to […]

BUST: Multi-Location Movie Theater Chains Struggle Street Fight

BUST: Multi-Location Movie Theater Chains Struggle

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With Oscar season around the corner, let’s examine the silver screen (or lack thereof). A 100-year-old movie theater MULO (multi-location) operation just declared bankruptcy. Founded in the day of silent films, Metropolitan Theaters has 16 theaters and 87 screens, including two IMAX auditoriums in California, Colorado, and Utah. The pandemic and the rise of the […]

Commentary

Online Reviews and the Problem of Authenticity

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Recent developments from the FTC mark a significant moment in the history of online review management. Practices such as review gating have been relatively widespread in the industry for years, despite warnings such as this Help Center update published by Google in 2018: “Don’t discourage or prohibit negative reviews or selectively solicit positive reviews from customers.” 

How Data Provides a Two-Way Story to Drive Performance

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Data creates a two-way story with customers. In this exchange, you deliver value to customers and they, in turn, give you important information about who they are and how they feel. Within customer experience management, this value exchange allows you to heighten the experience. It is the quality of the data and what you do with it that matters most for performance.

Location-Based Marketing Association: Google’s Location Tracking Lawsuit

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In this episode of Location Weekly, the Location-Based Marketing Association discusses Google getting sued over deceptive location tracking, Apple going head to head with Square by making iPhone payment terminals, SavageXFenty rolling out AR-powered FIT:MATCH tech in-store, and Placewise partnering with Bambuser to bring physical malls to customers via livestream.

Latest Posts

The Value of Business Agility

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Business agility is not just a talking point; it’s a worldview that informs all of your organization’s decisions and allows the business to continue evolving amid unpredictability.

Brands Embrace Holistic Data to Improve CX

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Flawless experiences, complete personalization, and timely communication across multiple channels. Consumer expectations have never been higher. With the line between success and failure now razor thin, more brands are asking how they can use data to provide customized experiences that cater to each buyer’s wants and needs.

SPYR Technologies acquires GeoTraq from JanOne

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In this episode of Location Weekly, the Location-Based Marketing Association covers Apiip expanding IP to Location API services to verify 1M+ requests, SPYR Technologies acquiring GeoTraq from JanOne, Google StreetView getting even better with a new camera, and Pacsun linking its physical and virtual metaverse stores.

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Where Are the Local Startups?

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Google was founded in 1998; Google Maps launched in 2005. Though the company has been at the bleeding edge of technological development ever since, still those dates are telling. In internet time, Google is a senior citizen, and it stands to reason that it must eventually let the new generation have a say. Where are the startups who will unveil for us a new paradigm for local?

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Report: Brand Loyalty Declines as Consumers Push for Transparency

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Following two tumultuous years, consumers are returning to their pre-pandemic ways. Spending on experiences and activities is up, and shoppers are returning to stores in person. Consumers are looking for the best selection and the best prices. What they’re not concerned with is brand loyalty. Where has the love gone?

Ad Tech and Privacy

Why Everyone is Talking About First-Party Data and What You Need to Know

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Many brands are successfully deploying interactive experiences across channels, driving immediate ROI as well as lifetime value. The improvement to lifetime value doesn’t just happen, though. There is another challenge that brands must address — which is now that they’ve captured the data, what are they going to do with it?

How AI Will Transform Ad Operations over the Next 5 Years

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Ultimately, Burt Intelligence CEO Carl Leskinen sees his company’s technology as elevating the status and possibly the impact of ad ops professionals in their organizations. Ad ops is well positioned to provide close-up intelligence on what kind of business is coming in, what products clients need, and how media organizations can run more smoothly. For now, their time is occupied putting out fires. With the right technology, Leskinen argues, they might be able to build a bigger house.

Adtech Execs React to Apple’s WWDC Tracking Announcements

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Apple announced at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference that it would add some features to SKAdNetwork, its privacy-adjusted marketing measurement framework, to provide more marketing insights.

7 Audio Out-of-Home (AOOH) Solutions to Watch in 2022

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Audio out-of-home (AOOH) advertising has become an ad industry darling, offering brands a creative way to connect with consumers in real-time as they move toward the point of purchase. By inserting ads into audio content, like podcasts, streaming music, or the overhead speakers in a retail store, brands are reaching on-the-go consumers and driving conversions.

The Future of Targeting Relies on the Right Data

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Ad targeting is about to undergo a seismic shift. In the not so distant future, marketers won’t select who is targeted. Rather, machines–powered by ML/AI–will determine the ads consumers see.