News and Analysis
Meet the Robotproof Leader: An Interview with Matt Robison About Boosting Product Sales
Matt Robison is the Founder & CEO of a marketing agency called Robotproof. The company is aptly named because he has a unique perspective on how to boost product sales by entertaining and engaging humans — and training the people who sell to them — at multi-location retailers. Robotproof’s primary focus is experiential marketing — […]
How Retailers Are Getting More Mileage from Curbside Pickups
With the pandemic firmly in the rearview mirror, consumers have returned to stores en masse. Surveys show that shopping behaviors in 2023 are not all that different from 2019 — with a few big exceptions. Online shopping continues to be more popular today than it was before the pandemic, and BOPIS—buy online, pickup in-store—has also […]
BOOM: Beyond the Barbells (MULO Specialty Gyms Abound)
We live in a world obsessed with longevity and fitness. Exercise has long been a big business. The fitness industry had its renaissance in the 1970s and 80s when the widespread adoption of TV and insights into the role of working out in battling heart disease gave rise to the practices of aerobics and yoga. […]
Commentary
How Audio OOH Can Withstand Emerging Privacy Regulations
Audio OOH enables advertisers to reach the right audience, and reporting tools can help them decipher how their audio ad influences a customer’s path to purchase. This type of product-level transactional data will be crucial as advertisers continue to clash with harsh but growing privacy regulations.
FocalPoint Raises $8m to Improve GPS Accuracy
In this episode of Location Weekly, the Location-Based Marketing Association covers TmrO app creating connections between freelancers and the music and film industries, FocalPoint raising £6 million to improve GPS accuracy, Chipotle investing in driverless company Nuro, and Whole Foods tapping into AR cosmetics try-on tools.
The Privacy Endgame
There is an endgame that can put a stop to drip-drip privacy changes. A reality in which large corporations go back to not knowing the intimate details of their consumers’ lives and are still able to use technology to provide better user experiences through hyper-personalized engagement. A reality in which consumers can enjoy personalized experiences at exactly the right moment without broadcasting their location to anyone. A reality in which it is technology, not fine print, that protects both consumers and corporations.
Latest Posts
What First-Party Data Can and Can’t Do For Agencies
Make no mistake, first-party data will play a critical role in the future of marketing, as it always has. But agencies as trusted advisors, and the industry overall, need to be realistic about what first-party data can and can’t do for clients, especially in the face of a global pandemic that has upended everything we thought we knew about consumer behavior.
Managing a Remote Team: 3 Tips From a Cool Manager
Striving to be a cool manager in the workplace is one thing, but managing a remote team in a global pandemic presents a whole new set of challenges that none of us had ever experienced before. Your team may face distractions when working from home, technical difficulties with video calls, a poor internet connection, among other unusual challenges.
When confronted with these issues, it can be hard to hold your team accountable and maintain positive relationships in the same ways you did previously. But as a manager, it’s your time to step up to the challenge, reassess your leadership strategy, and keep your cool while navigating the new normal.
Has Covid Killed the Single-Day Sale?
Limited-time offers and one-day sales are a mainstay of the holiday shopping season. But this year is unlike any other, and retailers are taking a different approach.
With Covid-19 restrictions limiting the number of customers who can be inside a store at any given time, retailers are looking at extending the shopping season to accommodate socially distant crowds.
Brands Are Struggling with Customer Loyalty in 2020. Here’s Why
The pandemic has sparked changes in consumer behavior. Some changes are predictable, like people stocking up on toilet paper when lockdown orders first went into effect.
But other changes occurring over the past seven months have been more slight and easier to miss. Now, with the holiday shopping season getting into full swing, brands are discovering that these minor shifts in consumer behavior have the potential to wreak havoc on their seasonal marketing strategies.
Location Weekly: Realworld Launches Adfindr for Local Ads
In this episode of Location Weekly, the Location-Based Marketing Association covers Merrell using voice and location to highlight nearby trails, Burger King’s Scary Places, Foursquare’s Marsbot for AirPods, Realworld launching Adfindr, and a new case study from Oriient on indoor positioning.
3 Reasons Why Marketers Should Care About False App Reviews
Most apps live on Apple’s App Store — home to nearly two million apps and access to 100 million iPhone users. Once a brand joins these ranks, there’s one goal: Drive positive ratings that entice more users to download and try the app. High ratings are critical for app visibility, as a higher rating has a strong correlation to trial, and Apple ranks those with more positive ratings and reviews higher than apps with negative ones.
But this ratings system can be manipulated to create false app ratings and skew scores, and that’s a bigger problem for marketers than they may realize.
Accelerated Digital Transformation Levels Playing Field for Local Businesses
As local businesses and SMBs adjust to their new realities, digital transformation initiatives have surged — namely in the form of pivoting to e-commerce selling and delivery models. Why? It’s no secret that online sales have taken the lead across the business landscape during Covid-19, and that is likely to continue.
How Consumer Behavior Toward Auto Ads Changed During Covid-19
As one of the largest spenders on digital advertising in the U.S., the automotive industry is a bellwether. Prior to the pandemic, the automotive industry had consistent double-digit growth in digital ad spending. That growth was forecast to continue through the end of 2020 — then, in March, everything changed.
Why Your Local Pages Might Be Happier on a Subdomain
Whether to build local pages on a subdomain or within a subfolder has long been a topic of heated debate. I’ve never sought to sway anyone’s religious conviction, nor do I intend to begin doing so. If you’re a devout subfolder-er, then I’m sure you have your reasons, and I look forward to hearing them. I’ll add that I haven’t yet thought of any other instances wherein I’d argue in favor of a subdomain, but I believe local pages are an exception. So, for those of you still open to opportunity, prepare to be opportune.
Prop 24 Could Majorly Impact California Data Privacy. Will Businesses Comply?
All eyes are focused on the presidential election today, but for businesses, a ballot initiative in California could have major implications. Proposition 24, known as the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020 (CPRA), is seen by many as an even more stringent version of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). That has some businesses rethinking how they collect user data and questioning whether they might be vulnerable to lawsuits if the proposition passes.
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