News and Analysis
Deft CEO: the State of SEO and Search Advertising
The team at Deft has some controversial takes on the state of SEO and search advertising. From the beginning, the company was founded on the belief that e-commerce is the most over-SEO’d and over-advertised search category — and the problem is only getting worse, as both Amazon and Google continue to make money by keeping […]
Hail Caesars Republic: Talking to Ryan Kirby about MULO Hotel Expansion
Many hotel companies now have different brands within their brand, offering various price points and experiences underneath their multi-location (MULO) umbrella. You may have thought of Caesars as just a casino experience in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, with giant statues and endless slots and tables. But Caesars is about to open its second non-gaming resort […]
The Cookie Is Crumbling: Americans Demand Better Privacy, Transparency, and Control
The ongoing debate surrounding the death of the cookie has prompted leaders in ad tech to reevaluate modern advertising practices and search for more privacy-conscious and user-friendly alternatives. Users are demanding greater privacy — including transparency, choice, and control over how their data is used. In addition, Apple has diminished the retargeting connection through IDFA, […]
Commentary
What Location Data Tells Us About Post-Pandemic Tourism
Data-driven insights have become crucial as the world prepares to reopen and drive growth to key travel destinations. Every single consumer segment has had to change their lifestyles and adapt to a changed landscape. This increases the urgency of collecting timely data to inform decisions as opposed to relying on past wisdom.
Shoppability is the New Black
But like many Covid-driven trends, shoppable content has been accelerated by shifting circumstances. And now it’s on a collision course with the holiday season. This means that the companies that are positioned to capture that spend will reap the rewards this year. We’ve seen much jockeying in the ad tech world for this very reason.
Latest Posts
Retailers Use AI to Combat Shrinking Seasonal Workforce, Surging Customer Demands
Increases in customer service tickets are expected to come just as seasonal workforces are hitting all-time lows. According to Puneet Mehta, founder and CEO of the AI platform Netomi, about 25% fewer agents are working in seasonal customer service roles now than before the pandemic. Customer service accounts for a lot of the seasonal roles retailers have traditionally hired for, and now retailers are looking at leveraging technology to fill that labor gap.
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?
Marketers Want Multiple IDs to Replace Third-Party Cookies
Marketers and publishers asking which will be the next-generation ID to rule them all are misguided, according to a new study by data solutions provider Lotame. The company surveyed 200 senior US marketing and publisher decision-makers, and 33% of marketers said they were open to “any number” of IDs, while 33% said three identity solutions would do the trick.
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.
What’s Behind Google’s Fake Review Problem?
In an analysis of more than 4 million store reviews on Google, Facebook, Yelp, and TripAdvisor, Uberall and The Transparency Company found that Google has the highest average percentage of inauthentic reviews across business categories. More than one in 10 reviews on Google’s platform was identified as fraudulent or fake in Uberall’s analysis. The category with the highest percentage of fake reviews was locksmiths, while pharmacies came in as the category with the lowest percentage of fake reviews.
Why Are So Many Chatbots Missing the Mark?
The use of chatbots for retail customer service has been on the rise for years. According to a report by Drift, use of chatbots as a brand communication channel increased by 92% between 2019 and 2020. Nearly one quarter of consumers used chatbots to communicate with a business last year. But how many of those interactions were positive, and how many customers left those interactions feeling like their issues were resolved?
Don’t Wait For a Cookieless World: Here’s How to Act Now
While Google’s delay in killing third-party cookies may seem like a sign to call off the forces and take a break from the rush to find a cookieless alternative, the reality is quite the opposite. Businesses need to act now or risk being left behind. Businesses can prepare for a cookieless future by focusing on the key problems driving privacy changes and exploring contextual targeting as an alternative to behavioral tracking.
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