News and Analysis
Report: 74% of Businesses Interested in Using AI and Automation
Was the last email newsletter from your favorite jewelry boutique generated by AI? What about the Facebook and Instagram posts from your local coffee shop? Years after big brands first started using AI and marketing automation to generate better ROI from their digital campaigns, small and mid-size businesses have finally jumped on board en masse. […]
Back-to-School 2023 by the Numbers
Although Halloween treats are already appearing on MULO (multi-location) retail shelves, let’s not forget that back-to-school shopping is still in season. Depending on where in the U.S. they live, students can return to academics as early as July these days. Although many schools still start after Labor Day, summer vacation ends early in many regions. […]
The ‘Last Mile’ Looms Large as Q4 approaches
As much as everyone loves Amazon, we must admit, they ruined it for other businesses in terms of raising customer expectations, particularly when it comes to the last mile. Amazon Prime. Next day. Same day. Drones. Amazon does it all, and other shipping providers have had to meet those standards to stay competitive. AxleHire, a […]
Commentary
How to Deliver Digital Experiences While Remaining Privacy-Compliant
With looming privacy changes, how can brands deliver digital experiences while remaining compliant? The answer lies in multitouch attribution and transparency.
Leveraging Household Targeting and CTV to Influence the Customer Journey
As technology has vastly increased the degree of targeting granularity marketers can achieve, there’s been a tendency to think of the customer journey as a solo endeavor. But in verticals like travel, QSR, and automotive, purchase decisions are more often a group activity involving all members of the family. Household targeting is the key to maximizing marketing performance in these segments.
Amazon’s Retail-as-a-Service Expands into Payments, AR, and Salons
As Amazon continues to mature, it needs to find revenue growth in new, creative places. The company’s booming advertising business is one such conquest. Iterating on the AWS playbook by bringing tech-fueled logistical innovations to physical stores could be another.
Latest Posts
Can Immersive Marketing Boost Local Businesses?
One of the emerging technologies driving innovation amid Covid is AR. For example, its ability to add real-life interactivity to e-commerce gained traction in 2020. This could extend to a post-Covid world of “touchless” retail for in-aisle virtual product interaction.
3 Ways Local Content Drives Customer Connections
Social distancing is here for the long haul, but consumers are still craving social connection. Brands can fill in the gaps by maximizing their digital presence on the key search and social platforms, such as Facebook, Google My Business, and Yelp, where consumers are spending increased time online.
Brands Must Balance Local Engagement with Scale
Alex Nocifera sees plenty of reasons to be optimistic. As the founder and CEO of Field Day, a local marketing startup, Nocifera believes that marketers in 2021 will be tasked with deciding when and how to diversify their budgets back to a balanced blend of online and offline spending.
Post-Third-Party Cookie Advertising and Experiences
Companies will still need to provide an equivalent user experience to the unknown visitors or risk driving them away. They will need to find incentives to drive authentication and opt-ins; additionally, they will need to create a brand experience that is broadly accessible in lieu of today’s personalized approaches that rely on third-party data insights.
Yelp Lets Users Fact-Check Local Business Covid Safety
Despite the vaccine rollout and improving economic sentiment, a majority of consumers remain concerned about engaging with local businesses in many places across the US. Yelp is now allowing businesses to provide more information about health and safety practices to customers in hopes of fueling a quicker recovery.
How Privacy Will Upend Advertising in 2021
Of course, if mobile numbers are adopted as a universal ID, Apple, Google, and Facebook won’t get their way. They will not go down quickly and will likely continue to bury email IDs as a viable solution. We’ll see the entire industry disrupted as each of the powerhouses marches forward with their plans to own the future of privacy, ensuring they monetize the very thing they are touting to protect.
3 Changes in CTV That Will Endure in 2021
While this year has seen so much change in TV, I expect even more next year, especially given that there is so much uncertainty related to Covid-19. With that in mind, here are three CTV predictions for 2021 and the ways they stand to impact the industry.
Recent Ad Fraud Schemes and How to Fight Them
Each year, marketers set out to solve ad fraud, but the systemic struggle is a long-term fight with no instant fix. To that end, I checked in with Paul Roberts, CEO of audience marketplace Kubient, to assess the state of ad fraud and how providers can keep it at bay this year.
Online Customer Service is the New Storefront
The face of retail is fundamentally different today than it was last January. Fewer shoppers entering brick-and-mortar stores and interacting with sales associates in person means retailers have had to rethink how they handle customer service. Retailers are now looking at ways to equip service teams to fill that new void.
Doubling Down on GMB: Local Search in 2021
For marketers who have found ways to use the latest tools and features being offered by Google and other search partners, 2021 is poised to become a period of high growth. With Google’s spate of new local marketing features launched in 2020, and predictions that additional changes are on the horizon in 2021, Adthena VP of Marketing Ashley Fletcher says the role that GMB plays in the larger local search space is expanding.
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Meta Is Automating Ads, But Brands Still Face a Bigger Problem