News and Analysis

Home Services : A $1.2 Trillion Opportunity Street Fight Live Neighborly

Toilets, Termites, and Terraces: A $1.2 Trillion Opportunity

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When we think of franchise businesses and other MULO (multi-location) operations, we tend to think of retail, restaurant, convenience stores, and service businesses like walk-in clinics and tax prep services. But a huge category exists called home services. Although many of these operations do not require brick-and-mortar locations (beyond a co-working space or small office […]

What Innovid Brings to the Mediaocean Table Street Fight

What Innovid Brings to the Mediaocean Table

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Once the Mediaocean acquisition of Innovid (for upwards of $500 million) goes through, the company will have one tough tech stack. “Being able to manage everything from Meta to TikTok to Snap, to now Reddit, is the latest one,” said Mediaocean CMO Aaron Goldman. Managing ads inside walled gardens is something that Flashtalking does very […]

MULO Brands With Soul November Picks: The Holiday Season of Giving Street Fight

MULO Brands With Soul November Picks: The Season of Giving

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Rather than single out one brand this month, we will focus on how several MULO (multi-location) brands are leaning into giving this holiday season with tie-ins to philanthropic efforts. Aligning a brand with a specific charitable effort can be risky, so doing due diligence before selecting a cause is imperative today. You certainly don’t want […]

Commentary

How AI Is Transforming Phone Calls Into Data

How AI Is Transforming Phone Calls Into Data

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“This call may be recorded for training and quality purposes”  We’ve all heard a version of this ubiquitous  message a thousand times.  Chances are we don’t even notice it any more due to a form of audio “ad blindness”.  Still, if we stop and think about it, interesting questions arise.  What are these recordings actually […]

Investing in AI Tools Leads to Better Outcomes for Marketers Street Fight

Investing in AI Tools Leads to Better Outcomes for Marketers

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The hype for AI has reached a crescendo, with companies across all industries introducing AI tools and endless amounts of news coverage touting its potential as a game-changer. While it has mostly remained a buzzword for many industries, it has already become a difference maker for marketers. According to a recent study, 41% of marketers […]

Why the Annual Planning Process is Behind Before it Starts Street Fight

Why the Annual Planning Process is Behind Before it Starts

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From advancements in campaign measurement to performance and optimization, the digital advertising industry has consolidated decades worth of transformation to a matter of years. And while the pace of advertising investments has shifted and performance data becomes available more regularly across channels, the annual planning process for all media expenditures has remained, well, annual. In […]

Latest Posts

Should MULO Brands Jump Into the U.S. Political Battleground? Street Fight

Should MULO Brands Jump Into the U.S. Political Battleground?

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As we know, brands are known for newsjacking and momentjacking. But what happens when that moment is a hotly-contested U.S. election? Today’s political climate has implications for brands and MULO (multi-location) retailers, and restaurants. Seemingly Safe Encouraging consumers to vote, regardless of their political leanings,  appears to be OK, provided it is well done. In […]

Spotzer and Adplorer Partner, Ad-Tech Collaborations Continue Street Fight

Spotzer and Adplorer Partner, Ad-Tech Collaborations Continue

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In a recent strategic move, Spotzer announced a partnership with Adplorer, integrating Adplorer’s ad-serving technology into SpotzerAds. This collaboration will help Spotzer’s enterprise partners and agencies, by improving ad-serving capabilities, supporting platforms like Google, Microsoft, Meta, and LinkedIn. Adplorer, with over 14 years of experience and €750 million in managed ad spend, complements Spotzer’s extensive […]

Streets Ahead: FTC Reviews Ruling and Google Core Update Street Fight

Streets Ahead: FTC Reviews Ruling and Google Core Update

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In this week’s Streets Ahead update, SOCi looks at the FTC’s new ruling on reviews and the Google august core update. FTC Launches New Rule to Combat Misleading Reviews and Ratings The News Fake reviews have been a longstanding issue in the digital marketplace, misleading consumers and harming reputable businesses. In response, after over a […]

Survey: CTV Is the Channel to Watch for Advertising Dollars Street Fight

Survey: CTV Is the Channel to Watch for Advertising Dollars

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The shift of advertising budgets from linear TV to CTV reflects the most significant consumer behavior this year, according to a report by Mediaocean, released on August 19. The omnichannel ad-media platform just released its 2024 H2 Market Report that looks at emerging consumer, media, and media-technology trends for the rest of the year, the […]

UGC and Marketing: Veronica Lin Shares Her Perspective Street Fight

UGC and Marketing: Veronica Lin Shares Her Perspective

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Today’s consumers are cynical when choosing MULO (multi-location) brands. They realize that most advertising and PR is created by brands and therefore potentially inauthentic. That’s where User Generated Content (UGC) plays a huge role in marketing today. “Content created by real people greatly sways purchasing choices across age groups, with 79% of individuals influenced by it and 93% […]

Brand Marketing: Focus on Outcomes and Cut Through the AI Hype Street FIght

Brand Marketing: Focus on Outcomes and Cut Through the AI Hype

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Google’s decision to call off its deprecation of the third-party cookie may seem like a reprieve for many brand marketers. But the truth is, regardless of this move, the digital landscape is increasingly privacy-centric. As users take control of their data-privacy, brand marketers have two options: spend more or spend smarter. AI can deliver the […]

BOOM & BUST: C-Stores Thrive While D-Stores Die Street Fight

BOOM & BUST: C-Stores Thrive While D-Stores Die

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The C in this case stands for convenience store (C-Store), and the D stands for department store (D-Store) — both critical outlets in the MULO (multi-location) retail ecosystem. Brick-and-mortar locations in many categories are still alive and well despite consumers’ penchant for online shopping. Yet, some types of MULO brands are performing much better than […]

Seedtag Acquires JustEggs for Contextual ANZ Market Entry Street Fight

Seedtag Acquires JustEggs for ANZ Market Entry

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When Seedtag acquired supply-side platform Beachfront in June, it did so to deepen its offering in TV and advertising video. One month later, Seedtag, a global leader in contextual advertising, acquired JustEggs to broaden its global footprint with entry into Australia and New Zealand. JustEggs is an Australian-owned creative intelligence business. Dal Gill, Vice President […]

Streets Ahead: Google Monopoly Ruling, AIO Declines StreetFight

Streets Ahead: Google Monopoly Ruling, AIO Declines

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In this week’s Streets Ahead update, SOCi looks at what’s next after the Google monopoly ruling as well as the continued decline in Google AI Overviews (AIO). Google Monopoly Ruling: What’s Next After the DOJ’s Landmark Decision? The News Last week, we reported on a significant development in the lawsuit filed against Google by the […]

Christena Garduno of Media Culture: The Marketing Agency's Future Street Fight

Christena Garduno of Media Culture: The Marketing Agency’s Future

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Marketing agencies used to be able to woo clients with unique and emotional ad campaigns. Then, as media options became more varied, knowing how and where to spend ad dollars (print, television, radio, and ultimately online) was a critical factor. Today, agencies must deliver a full range of strategies and solutions, and data analytics and […]