News and Analysis
TikTok Is Becoming a Core Marketing Channel — Not Just a Social App
TikTok, once known purely for bite-sized content and entertainment, has evolved into a place people go to discover brands, learn what’s trending, and make decisions. With over 1 billion monthly active users globally and 200 million in the U.S.1, it’s become where someone might first hear about a product, look up a service, or decide […]
Study Finds Rewards Drive Bigger Baskets – and Brand Switching
A new 2026 study from XCCommerce found that 46.8% of shoppers buy more than planned or switch brands when redeeming rewards. The data suggests promotions are no longer just loyalty tools. They actively drive incremental spend, especially when offers are simple, timely, and delivered through owned channels like email and text. StreetFight spoke with XCCommerce […]
Tinuiti Report: Social Ad Spend Is Up
Social ad spend is shifting again — and the signals are coming into focus. New Q4 data from Tinuiti shows advertisers regaining confidence in TikTok’s U.S. future, increasing spend after months of pullback, while platforms like Instagram Reels, YouTube, Pinterest, and Reddit continue to absorb growing shares of social ad spend. As automation expands and […]
Commentary
Why Review Competition Breaks at Scale for Multi-Location Brands
Google reviews have become one of the most powerful competitive signals in local search — influencing Local Pack visibility, consumer trust, and increasingly, how brands surface in AI-driven discovery experiences. But while review strategy is relatively straightforward for single-location businesses, it becomes far more complex and fragile at scale for multi-location brands. For multi-location brands […]
The Biggest Risks Facing Influencer Marketing in 2026
Influencer marketing is entering a more fragile phase. As AI-generated content proliferates, trust in online creators erodes, governments introduce tighter social media regulations, and creator burnout accelerates, brands face a more complex and risk-laden landscape heading into 2026. While influencer marketing remains big business, shifts in authenticity, transparency, platform access, and audience behavior are forcing […]
Streets Ahead: Google, Apple, and Siri Signal a New Era for AI, Search, and Commerce
In this week’s Streets Ahead update, SOCi examines how Google is rapidly consolidating its role as the underlying infrastructure powering the next phase of AI-driven discovery, decision-making, and commerce. From a multi-year partnership with Apple to power Apple Intelligence and Siri with Gemini, to growing adoption of Gemini across Search and Android, and now the […]
Latest Posts
Stic Turns Everyday Driving Into a New, Measurable OOH Channel
Out-of-home advertising is getting more mobile and more measurable. Stic, a platform that turns everyday driving into a brand exposure network, has raised $10 million in bridge funding as agencies and advertisers search for alternatives to crowded digital channels. By paying drivers per mile to carry brand messaging through real neighborhoods, Stic offers brands a […]
Why Review Competition Breaks at Scale for Multi-Location Brands
Google reviews have become one of the most powerful competitive signals in local search — influencing Local Pack visibility, consumer trust, and increasingly, how brands surface in AI-driven discovery experiences. But while review strategy is relatively straightforward for single-location businesses, it becomes far more complex and fragile at scale for multi-location brands. For multi-location brands […]
Retail Media’s Maturity Moment: Why 2026 Changes Everything for Brands
Retail media is entering its maturity phase — and in 2026, there will be no hiding behind experimentation. As brands shift real budget into retail media networks, the pressure is on retailers to prove incremental impact, operational rigor, and measurable outcomes at scale. With U.S. retail media ad spend projected to surpass $69 billion, the […]
How Brands Can Influence AI Search Results—Not Just Rank in Them
As AI answers increasingly replace traditional search results, local and regional brands are facing a new visibility challenge: how to show up when consumers never click a link at all. In an AI search environment where recommendations are surfaced instantly—and often without a website visit—being included in the answer matters more than driving traffic. A […]
Google Anonymous Reviews Reshaping Visibility for Sensitive-Industry Brands
Amid AI Overviews, AI Mode, and a steady drumbeat of core updates, Google quietly introduced a change with outsized implications for certain businesses: Google anonymous reviews. By allowing users to leave reviews under a pseudonym rather than their real name, Google has lowered a long-standing barrier for customers in privacy-sensitive industries. For multi-location brands in […]
Paycom Taps NBA Star Jalen Williams to Put AI Answers Front and Center
B2B tech brands are increasingly turning to familiar faces to humanize complex software — and Paycom is leaning into that strategy with its latest campaign. The Oklahoma City–based HR and payroll platform has tapped Jalen Williams, an All-Star guard for the Oklahoma City Thunder, to headline its new “Answers” campaign, spotlighting how its IWant™ AI […]
The Biggest Risks Facing Influencer Marketing in 2026
Influencer marketing is entering a more fragile phase. As AI-generated content proliferates, trust in online creators erodes, governments introduce tighter social media regulations, and creator burnout accelerates, brands face a more complex and risk-laden landscape heading into 2026. While influencer marketing remains big business, shifts in authenticity, transparency, platform access, and audience behavior are forcing […]
VIOOH and Atmosphere TV Expand Programmatic Place-Based Streaming
Programmatic video advertising is moving beyond traditional digital boundaries and deeper into the physical world. With a newly announced partnership, VIOOH, the global digital out-of-home (DOOH) supply-side platform, is teaming up with Atmosphere TV to unlock programmatic access to the largest place-based streaming TV network built specifically for businesses. The partnership expands access to more […]
Neuro-Contextual Advertising Signals the Post-Cookie Future of Attention
As cookies and identifiers continue to fade, a new frontier is emerging in digital advertising—one powered not by who users are, but by how they feel. New research from Seedtag suggests that neuro-contextual advertising, which aligns ads with emotional context and intent rather than personal data, is driving significantly higher attention and engagement across CTV […]
Streets Ahead: Google, Apple, and Siri Signal a New Era for AI, Search, and Commerce
In this week’s Streets Ahead update, SOCi examines how Google is rapidly consolidating its role as the underlying infrastructure powering the next phase of AI-driven discovery, decision-making, and commerce. From a multi-year partnership with Apple to power Apple Intelligence and Siri with Gemini, to growing adoption of Gemini across Search and Android, and now the […]
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