News and Analysis
Study: Higher Allocation to OOH Channel Boosts Performance
It’s time for media buyers to click their heels together three times and repeat: there’s no place like out-of-home (OOH). A study of ad-trends data from 2017-2022, the most recent data available, indicated that brands that re-allocated more of their media spending to the OOH channel saw increased effectiveness of campaign performance. Three verticals in […]
BOOM: Dina Mitchell Launches a Gluten-Free MULO Brand
Dina Mitchell was the brain behind The Tropical Smoothie Café brand in Nevada and Southern California. Starting with only 23 locations, the brand grew to 1,300 and Mitchell’s stores clinched several Franchise of the Year awards and she became the Area Developer of the Year. After fifteen years of growth (including a $22 million year) […]
Digital Advertisers Suit-Up for the Big Game
Is Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas REALLY almost here? Yep. On February 11th, teams (and the digital advertisers that leverage the game) will run onto the field and play to win. As we know, Super Bowl advertising has transformed from the early days of big 60-second TV spots to fully integrated campaigns that are […]
Commentary
Unpacking Holiday Trends: What Retailers Need to Know
Although the forecast is relatively rosy, retailers are competing for every dollar. Many are taking a more strategic approach to capitalize on pent-up shopping energy than they did last year. Let’s take a closer look at what we can expect from the 2021 holiday season, including best practices for maximizing sales.
What You Need to Know about the Google My Business Name Change
The GMB name change brings with it a fair degree of uncertainty. Google may be retaining, for instance, the model of an API that helps partners manage listings for both SMBs and larger brands, but if the company is simultaneously building out a snazzy new interface for those same multi-location brands to manage Google profiles on their own, does this fact represent an existential threat to listing management companies?
LBMA: Chili’s Tests a Robot Server
In this episode of Location Weekly, the Location-Based Marketing Association covers Chili’s restaurants testing a robot server named Rita, Locky Dock Media Network blending media and public good, ProMobi releasing tech to track frontline workers, and EzFill adding gasoline to a growing list of on-demand delivery items.
Latest Posts
LBMA: Heineken Tackles Supply Chain Crisis
In this episode of Location Weekly, the Location-Based Marketing Association covers Hyatt rolling out room keys via Apple Wallet, the New York Mets launching facial ticketing at Citi Field, Foodtown Supermarkets completing a successful pilot with Allegiance Retail Services, and Heineken getting into the Christmas spirit to solve supply chain woes.
The Influence of Local Guides on Google Reviews: Part 2
Figuring out what type of Local Guides are leaving reviews, and what kind of reviews they are leaving, matters for a few reasons. First, Local Guides are responsible for writing more reviews of local businesses than any other group on the internet. Second, Local Guides write reviews under circumstances that make them different from ordinary consumers: They are self-selected volunteers who get rewarded, albeit in a non-monetary fashion, for their contributions. Fairly or not, they are often thought of as biased and their contributions as less valuable, merely “written for points.” Third, the true characteristics of Local Guides are not well known, because they have not yet been subject to this type of study.
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.
6 Fulfillment Services for Personalizing E-Commerce Orders
Packages full of bubble wrap and styrofoam peanuts just aren’t cutting it anymore. Instead, more retailers are using e-commerce fulfillment services to create branded experiences, replete with everything from personalized tissue paper to custom selected product samples. Whether the purchase takes place online or in person, industry players are realizing that presentation is a critical component of the complete brand experience.
Streets Ahead: Google AI Mode , OpenAI & Commerce, TikTok