News and Analysis

What Google At Peak Search Means for Marketers

For Q3 2023 earnings, Google reported a shortfall on cloud revenue and that their US core advertising / search business over delivered to make up part of the difference. So how has Google become this dependent on non-advertising revenue streams to achieve future growth targets and how much longer can they go back to the […]

Keep an Eye on C-Stores (Both on and Off the Road!)

As we’ve previously covered, the traditional C-stores (convenience store) used to be that corner deli where you could pick up snacks, soft drinks, or smokes or the stop along the highway where you gassed up, took a hygiene break and grabbed something sugary to tide you over on the road. Consumers are starting to head […]

BrightLocal Report : How Consumers Find Local Businesses

When business owners and marketers need to ensure their business information is correct and consistent for thousands of locations, they might do well to first consult the BrightLocal Local Business Discovery and Trust Report 2023 for guidance. To Sammy Paget, Content Marketing Manager at BrightLocal, trust is at the heart of a high level of […]

Commentary

Retail Employee of the Future

LBMA: Appen’s Acquisition of Quadrant

In this episode of Location Weekly, the Location-Based Marketing Association covers Avondale Park District putting Amazon lockers in parks, Oscar Meyer hitting the road with Lyft, FedEx leveraging sensors for last mile vaccine distribution, and Appen acquiring Quadrant in location data merger.

Why Marketing Is Here to Stay — Headed by CMOs or Not

While some high-profile companies that eliminated the CMO role delegated the responsibilities to the division level and/or divided oversight among other company leaders at the corporate level, all of these functions remain vital to business success. Someone still has to be making the decisions, and someone still has to be responsible for marketing performance, regardless of title.

How Tech-Enabled H2H Can Boost Hyperlocal Marketing

Marketers do not need to see H2H as at odds with data-driven advertising. Marketers can leverage tech to activate brand ambassadors in target communities, foster local connections, scale to multiple trade areas, and collect data on the back end that allows for customer relationship management and marketing measurement. This is H2H marketing for the digital world, and it’s better than retargeting without a human touch and human touch with no data to back it up.

Latest Posts

First-Party Data Provides Opportunity for Marketers to Innovate

The loss of third-party cookies need not spell disaster for the digital advertising industry – it’s an opportunity to adapt and improve. The time has come to embrace first-party data and a consumer-centric approach to advertising.

The Business Case for Privacy

The test of a good business case is that it is backed by a lot of good data but can be easily summarized: Privacy creates trust. Trust builds loyalty. Loyal customers drive growth.

Report: Privacy and Walled Gardens Risk Undermining Marketing Strategy

Marketing strategies, and the data they run on, face systemic risk in 2021. More than ever before, marketers’ access to customer data is being cut off by increased privacy restrictions from governments and private gatekeepers alike.

Are Brand Ambassadors Replacing Influencers Post-Pandemic?

The everyday consumer tends to first seek out friends/family and niche influencers (or brand ambassadors) for recommendations rather than celebrity influencers. An ambassador is product-oriented, commission-driven, and incentivized to sell products, rather than being paid per post conditional upon the number of followers they have like an influencer. Being commission-driven, ambassadors will usually get into the nitty-gritty about the product, spelling out why they love it, tips on styling, etc.

Apple’s Long View of Data Privacy: Revisiting Jobs in 2010

But what is the source of Apple’s self-interest, which drives its approach to privacy? I want to suggest that it’s not just a short-sighted opportunity to one-up Facebook and rival smartphone maker Google. Unlike the vast majority of tech companies recently touting new approaches to privacy, Apple isn’t new to this party.

Retail Employee of the Future

6 Omnichannel Ad Buying Platforms for Brands

With much of the $664 billion advertising market in flux, there’s a renewed focus on omnichannel platforms that use integrated workflows to improve efficiencies and reduce redundant work. This next generation of ad buying solutions takes into account disparate channels and audiences, enabling brand marketers to automate and optimize campaigns across ecosystems.

Marketers, We Need More Accurate Attribution Modeling

In order to produce accurate attribution models, data must be combined, centralized, clean, valid, and recent. Brands that compile customer data from all channels and assemble the tech that produces multi-faceted views of customer journeys will have a competitive advantage. AI-driven modeling is possible with the right data tools in place.

QR Code

6 QR Code Ordering Solutions for Restaurants

QR codes are finding new life as businesses adapt to the ongoing pandemic. Consumers seeking out touchless payment opportunities and businesses wanting the ability to integrate more tools for tracking and analytics are embracing the technology with a level of enthusiasm we haven’t seen before.

Enriching First-Party Data to Remove Marketing ‘Blind Spots’

More advertisers are taking control of their media spend, and they’re looking for better ways to have direct involvement in the use of first-party data to improve ad performance. Those are just a few of the findings in a new report by Kantar looking at the latest behaviors, attitudes, and trends in the digital advertising space.

Retail Employee of the Future

Street Fight’s August Theme: Doubling Down on Data

When we ask ourselves which way those winds are blowing, the clear answer this month is heightened attention to the evolution of consumer data. That’s right, we’re doubling down on last month’s theme. This happens every once in a while when topics are weighty enough. We did the same mid-pandemic regarding Covid’s impact on local commerce.