News and Analysis
Is the Digital Agency Dying?
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal quoted Forrester Research as saying that the “digital agency” will face its demise in 2024. As in the direct mail era, talent that specialized in a new medium was in demand, but then mail campaigns were replaced in part by digital marketing and most full-service agencies began […]
Snack Tech: The Ultimate Brand Loyalty App
Cookies and chips are tech terms. But now digital meets dough (both kinds) as one MULO (multi-location) bakery brand is getting noticed for its loyalty app. Crumbl (a 700-location brand) has been shouted out in food and beverage media as having one of the top 10 apps. It is #6 in the top 10 most […]
BOOM: Tutoring & Learning Centers
It’s a (sad) fact. About half of students in 2023 started the school year behind grade level.The pandemic, combined with digital distractions, has had an impact on how kids are performing in school. But MULO (multi-location) tutoring centers are coming to the rescue. The private tutoring market is expected to grow to $106 billion by […]
Commentary
What I Learned from 50 Examples of the New Local SERP
After conducting more than 50 “local intent” searches, I’ve found that not all of them return the new “mega map,” nor is the new layout as consistent as it at first appeared it would be. The range of searches I tried includes generic keyword searches for brick-and-mortar stores, such as the example above, as well as searches for local service providers, chain stores, products, and more. I tried covering a broad base of searches covering a range of categories. I made sure all of my searches would be interpreted as local by appending “san francisco” to each query.
Catch-(20)22: Where Do Mobile Apps Go from Here?
The privacy solution is sitting right in front of marketers’ faces. Shifting data analysis onto the mobile device of each user is the path out of this impossible situation. Not only does it solve the privacy issue, it also makes it possible to enrich previously available data with much richer datasets, some of which are available immediately upon download.
Superior Customer Experience is the Gift that Keeps on Giving All Year Long
All brands and retailers are competing against each other for sales this holiday season, and the surge in e-commerce has favored big retailers like Amazon, Walmart, and Target thanks to accessibility, convenience, and marketing dollars. Local businesses, which previously thrived on outpacing big brands with superior in-person customer service, are now being pushed to adapt to the new consumer, one who spends less time browsing a retail location and more time scrolling online.
Latest Posts
The Post-App Era: Optimizing Customer Interactions with Personalization
Now is the time to pivot. Shifting the focus to mobile and social messaging channels might seem like a tall order, but optimizing customer interactions through these channels can be easily accomplished if brands increase their social touch points with consumers. After all, a customer journey is only successful if you understand the customer’s needs upfront.
Smaller Brands Are Struggling with Social Commerce. Here’s Why
Social commerce is expected to grow 3x as fast as traditional e-commerce, according to a report by Accenture, to reach $1.2 trillion by 2025, but that doesn’t mean savvy marketers from smaller brands can’t find their own points of entry. By thinking outside the box and looking beyond Instagram and TikTok for attention, some midsize brands are finding opportunities to shine.
First-Party Data Alone Can’t Satisfy Many Marketing Needs
When it comes to third-party data, the old Mark Twain quote applies: “The report of my death was an exaggeration.” The end of the cookie is not the same as the end of third-party data. There are multiple third-party data options for marketers that are inherently privacy-conscious, regulation-satisfying, and that work with the policies being implemented by big-tech.
Meeting the Heightened Demand for Timely Local Information
With businesses closing temporarily due to government mandate, or changing their offerings or hours significantly in response to the pandemic, consumers turned to local search too with a heightened, even sometimes critical need to access the latest information. This heightened demand has not disappeared.
Location-Based Marketing Association: Precisely Launches a Property Graph
In this episode of Location Weekly, the Location-Based Marketing Association discusses Precisely launching a property graph, PlaceSense and Senozon creating a European partnership, Gucci and Sandbox launching a virtual store in the metaverse, and Qmetrix and Via Guide teaming up on an AI-driven airport checkpoint system.
In Crowded Space, Brands Rethink Approach to CTV
Research from eMarketer shows that advertisers spent $10.3 billion on connected TV programmatic display ads in 2021, an 82% increase from the year prior. But what they got in return is anyone’s guess. For all the advancements in digital marketing, CTV advertising still remains an opaque space where advertisers know little about the shows or other ads their spots are running against. This can lead to wasted budgets, ad frequency issues, and even fraud.
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