News and Analysis
Fan Frenzy: The Rise of Merch in MULO Restaurants
Merchandise (merch) has long been part of the music scene. You love the band…you see the live show…you buy the music, tee shirt, and hat on the way out of the venue. But now, multi-location (MULO) brands are picking up on the beat and incorporating creative and varied branded merchandise into their offerings. Whether consumers […]
Snack Brands Lean Into Nostalgia this Back-to-School Season
The dog days of summer have arrived, and all around the country, parents are preparing kids for back-to-school in just a few short weeks. For snack and specialty food brands like General Mills, Conagra, and Nestlé, it’s go time. Despite often being overlooked during the back-to-school rush, when attention is generally focused on backpacks and […]
Snoop Dogg’s Munchie Meal and Celebrity-Inspired MULO Brands
We live in a world of stars — big, small, and on the rise. From singers and actors we watch on stage and screen to reality TV celebrity to previously-unknown consumers who make a name for themselves on TikTok, we exist in a world where everyone can be perceived as “talent.” Celebrity endorsements are certainly […]
Commentary
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.
The Deprecation of Cookies Leads to a New Probabilistic Playbook
The upshot is that deterministic approaches via walled gardens will still have importance, but they will simply become a strategy play as opposed to a catch-all approach for digital marketing. It’s apparent that any brands buying or relying on deterministic audiences need to augment their solutions to ensure they meet their ongoing campaign goals.
Latest Posts
Retailers Embrace Mobile As Pandemic Holiday Shopping Ramps Up
While this holiday season will be unlike any other, retailers have reason to be optimistic. Holiday sales are set to rise 1% to 1.5%, with e-commerce growing as much as 35%. Consumers are expected to spend between $1.147 trillion and $1.152 trillion between November and January. Much of that spending will happen with large retail chains that have omni-channel experiences already set up, and that has smaller retailers rushing to put their own mobile strategies in place.
How To Grow Your E-Commerce Sales Outside of Amazon
I do not mean to suggest that you should stop using Amazon as a means to make a sale – just that investing in a marketplace that you personally have more control over and leveraging an integrated strategy (that will also include your Amazon pages) can prove to be the more lucrative option.
Here’s what you need to do to grow sales on your own website.
How 5 Retailers Are Using AR for Covid-Compliant Try-Ons
With hygiene and customer safety now a top priority, more retailers are beginning to use AR to simulate the try-on experience. Whether they’re “trying on” items at home or in-store, AR tools are giving retailers a way to assist customers in their buying decisions as they virtually test out thousands of products using their mobile devices.
Here are five examples of how innovative retailers are taking full advantage of AR in the Covid era.
As Political Messaging Shifts to CTV, Email Backs Up Campaigns
In a loud election where social media is overrun with fake news and unsolicited user-created opinions, campaigns must communicate in a consistent and streamlined way with voters, serving only ads that they want to see in their preferred channels. Campaigns might not win a voter on one issue but could sway or motivate them on another if they know what resonates with them.
This election year, the power of email should not be underestimated.
Google My Business Posts: Your Unexpected Holiday Hero
We’re in an era that allows enterprise businesses to tap into the API and upload Google Posts at scale (with help from a local platform management partner). Year-round, businesses can feature new product launches, new store openings, in-store events, and more, but perhaps one of the best times of year to leverage this space is during the months of November and December, when shoppers are gearing up for the holiday season.
Let’s walk through the top five best uses for Google Posts over the holiday season.
Foursquare’s New Audio Assistant is a Peek into the Future of Local Tech
Dubbed Marsbot for Airpods, Foursquare’s virtual assistant will whisper insights to users about their surroundings, unprompted, as they move throughout the world. This may be a recommendation for a local coffee shop or a fun fact about a landmark.
For brick-and-mortar businesses and the technology providers that help them connect with customers, the marketing possibilities are tantalizing.
Brands Struggle to Strike the Right Tone This Holiday Season
It’s not even November, but the holiday shopping season has already begun. With nearly two-thirds of consumers saying the Covid-19 pandemic has negatively impacted their attitude toward the shopping season, retail marketers are rethinking their approach this year and focusing more heavily on empathy and values when they target younger shoppers.
Location Weekly: Location Data Gets Political, Taco Bell Personalizes Menus
In this episode of Location Weekly, the Location-Based Marketing Association covers using location data to influence US elections, Brandify and Rakuten Ready partnering, ZoneTail teaming with Radical Road Brewing, and Taco Bell using Certona AI to personalize menus for app members.
Connecting the Dots on Google’s Visual Road Map
Google continues to double down on visual search and navigation. Its latest move came last week with updates to its Live View visual navigation to help users identify and qualify local businesses. This follows soon after its Earth Cloud Anchors that will let users create digital content on physical places.
Both developments tell us something about what may well be the future of local search: augmented reality-enhanced visuals.
How Brands Can Rise, Retain, and Return Stronger Than Ever this Holiday Season
Prior to Covid-19, traditional demographics still directed many brands’ targeting strategies. However, the pandemic has laid bare just how flawed this method can be. We believe that the best measure of what someone will purchase in the future is looking at what they’ve purchased in the past. This holds true even in an uncertain market and is invaluable for retailers as the holidays approach.
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