News and Analysis
BOOM: Mini Golf Goes Maxi
Even if you may never be a star on an international golf tour, you can beat your friends and family to a rousing game at indoor mini golf. Puttshack, which opened two mini golf locations in 2021 has rapidly grown to 11 nationally in: Nashville Boston Chicago Dallas Houston St. Louis Pittsburgh Miami Denver Scottsdale […]
This Channel Could be Bowling Brands Over
Move over, Ralph Kramden. Bowling is becoming one of the most popular activities in the United States. According to data released last year from Ipsos, it was among the most “played” sports in 2022. Right after Cornhole, which 20% of Americans played, bowling drew 19%. Swimming was third at 18%. Statista posits that about 45 […]
BOOM: The Skinny on FAT Brands
FAT Brands sends us regular news announcements about their growth, menu updates, and company strategies. We’re wowed by their speed of franchise innovation. We reached out to their executive team to get insights into the FAT philosophy and forward-looking path. As a MULO (multi-location) brand, they are clearly one of the gentle yet powerful giants. […]
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
Heap Raises $110M to Fund the Future of Digital Analytics
Heap, a startup that helps businesses build better digital experiences by surfacing hidden friction and opportunities in the customer journey, has closed on a $110 million Series D round. That brings the company’s valuation to $960 million and solidifies Heap as one of this year’s heavy-hitters among digital analytics platforms for product builders, growth marketers, and analytics teams.
Yelp: Consumers Want Reviews, Not Just Ratings. OK, Google?
For Yelp, consumers’ stated preference for written reviews is good news to share, as the company forces reviewers to leave written text, whereas Big Tech rival Google, which has gained sway in the local reputation space in recent years, allows reviewers to leave a rating out of five stars without further commentary.
5 Predictions for Digital Advertising in 2022
2022 will be another big year for digital advertising. Over the next 12 months, we are likely to see new norms take shape surrounding privacy, targeting, and evolving channels, fundamentally reshaping the industry as we know it today.
5 Brands Leveraging AI to Give Consumers What They Want This Holiday Season
What do shoppers really want this holiday season? As more brands transition to first-party data, advanced technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are taking the guesswork out of managing supply and improving the shopping experience with more personalized service.
With Supply Chain in Crisis, Retailers Use Tech-Enabled Processes to Monitor Demand
Demand for e-commerce shopping and fast shipping continues to be high, which puts additional pressure on retailers to fulfill consumers’ needs. As smaller, independent retailers look at how they can handle the upcoming surge, now is the time to utilize cloud-based communication tools like Twilio to keep customers satisfied.
LBMA: Supermarket Uses In-Store Data to Drive Programmatic DOOH Ads
In this episode of Location Weekly, the Location-Based Marketing Association covers Life360 acquiring Tile, Albert Heijn using in-store data to inform programmatic DOOH ads, Mondelez Vietnam using AI in a mooncake marketing campaign, and WaitTime bringing load-balancing tech to retail with a Mall of America pilot.
How Younger Platforms Are Chipping Away at Facebook’s Dominance in Social
There’s a lot of talk in the martech/adtech ecosystem about Facebook and Instagram’s gradual loss of sway in social advertising, especially relative to video-first apps popular among young people such as Snapchat and TikTok. But how much are things really changing, and why?
Is Shopify Plus Worth It? Here’s What You Need to Know
So, what version of Shopify do you really need? Shopify Plus is the top-tier option and the priciest, but it offers exclusive features and capabilities designed to skyrocket growth and sales. Learn more about what Shopify Plus has to offer and see if it’s the best choice for your business.
How D2C Brands Are Capitalizing on Physical Stores and Shifting Metrics of Success
Now, digital-first brands are embracing brick-and-mortar. In doing so they are upending the way we measure success in physical retail spaces and rewriting the retail playbook in the process.
Digital Advertising Has a Promising 2022 in Store — for Those Who Get Ready for It
The industry is moving away from third-party cookies, toward VR/AR experiences, and into a rebounding economy. We’ll see more things transform in 2022 — and here are some trends that I see accelerating, which advertisers, agencies, and publishers need to watch.
Street Fight’s Big 3
Street Fight Columns
Street Fight Categories
Meta Is Automating Ads, But Brands Still Face a Bigger Problem