News and Analysis

Tinuiti Digital Ad Spending Report Signals Optimism for 2023’s Second Half

If Q2 ad spending in paid search, retail media, and across social media is any indication, the U.S. economy just might serve up a Merry Little Christmas, according to Andy Taylor, VP, of Research at Tinuiti. In disseminating the latest findings of Tinuiti’s recently released Q2 2023 Digital Ads Benchmark Report, Taylor said, “Signs are […]

Wild Wing Cafe Declares Bankruptcy

BUST: Wild Wing Cafe Declares Bankruptcy

Looking at the website of this MULO (multi-location) brand, one would think it has all the makings of the queen of the coop. Wild Wing Cafe boasts locally-sourced ingredients, a loyalty program, live entertainment, and even free wings with a $5 purchase. It states they have “40 locations and growing.” But the franchise just joined a […]

New Partnership Promises Boost to Retail Media Networks

New Partnership Promises Boost to Retail Media Networks

Just when we thought it was safe for the ad-tech industry to rest on its analytics and measuring prowess two decades into the 21st century, it turns out new levels of sophistication are being reached by retail media networks. Take the measurement of foot traffic into physical spaces such as retail, hospitality, and real estate. […]

Commentary

Contact Center Should Be the Marketing Engine

Contact Centers Should Be Marketing Engines

With so much now happening in the contact center, it seems it is indeed an often untapped source of marketing gold — if marketers can glean meaningful insights out of it. that is. So, how can marketing executives accomplish that?

Reveal Mobile Logs a Patent on “Custom Tagging”

In this episode of Location Weekly, the Location-Based Marketing Association covers Safegraph raising $45M, the bLinkup app providing Covid safety ratings on bars and restaurants, Reveal Mobile receiving a patent on “custom tagging,” and Apple dropping a hint at wearable tech with a new patent of its own.

Google’s Ad Changes: The King Just Built a Moat Around His Castle

The initial frenzy over Google’s news regarding its latest privacy updates has abated, and now it’s time to really think about what it means – for Google, for brands, and for the industry as a whole.

As governments have lit a fire under brands and consumers have become more data-conscious, the future of marketing and advertising is unfolding before us. Let’s take a dive into what it all really signifies.

Latest Posts

Location Data Says Krispy Kreme’s Times Square Plan May Be Half-Baked

As someone who studies human mobility in New York routinely, I am compelled to question the pandemic-era business logic behind this aggressive expansion. The world will go back to normal or something like it one day, but, by using our human mobility data sets and assuming a continuation of current trends, we can see there is little evidence that these new Krispy Kreme locations will draw enough foot traffic in the coming months and quarters to survive, let alone thrive. 

Heard on the Street, Episode 57: Streamlining the Digital Ad Stack

What can one learn through a combination of the Peace Corps, CPA training, and the ad tech world? On Street Fight’s Heard on the Street Podcast, we often talk about the virtues of “cross-training” in a given career path. Perhaps no one embodies that principle more than VRTCAL founder Todd Wooten.

Covid-19 is Boosting Mobile Use, and These Apps Are Taking the Lion’s Share

With many social options put on hold, people find solace in retail therapy. Between April 2019 to 2020, the cost to acquire a user who completes a first purchase in a shopping app has decreased by more than half (50.6%), compared to the same period in 2018. Similarly, the cost to acquire a registration ($8.76) has dropped nearly 40%.

Plus, with a 40% increase in purchase engagement year-on-year — and 110% increase over two years — it’s clear conditions are positive for marketers to reach and engage a highly motivated, high-value audience.

How Small Businesses Can Conquer E-Commerce for the Holidays

As the pandemic continues, consumers are shifting their expectations of brands as well. They don’t just want coupons in their email anymore, they expect an intuitive browsing and checkout process, accurate inventory and out-of-stock notifications, curbside delivery, and fast shipping.

E-commerce is already a must-have, and small businesses who understand this and take steps to offer their customers a way to buy online will create a memorable experience, more long-term loyalty, and ultimately more sales this holiday season.

Mobile Ad Network Vungle Acquires Mobile Ad Platform AlgoLift

Vungle helps mobile app developers monetize their apps through advertising and connects advertisers with mobile app media. The AlgoLift purchase will help Vungle’s advertisers better solve for attribution and optimize in-app ad spend.

Facebook, Holocaust Denial, and the Refusal of Politics

Facebook’s long-term refusal to strike down Holocaust-denial content is not a problem specific to Facebook. It’s not a decision limited to Zuckerberg or a few feckless executives. The problem is not even limited to tech.

Facebook’s purported refusal of politics — its reluctance to accept that it has always been a political actor and that its content-moderation policies and algorithms have real-world effects on what people believe and what they do, up to and including acts of physical violence as in Myanmar — is a structural feature of shareholder capitalism. A content ecosystem whose leaders are so timid as to let Holocaust denial flourish is the logical result of an approach to management that views its only responsibility as minimizing costs and maximizing market capitalization.

How In-House Agencies Can Provide Value During and After Covid-19

When asked what the most critical resources for producing ads post Covid-19 were, 55% of ANA members said in-house teams, as compared to 42% for other internal teams and 26% for external agencies.

In many respects, Covid just accelerated the already impressive growth of in-housing. Moving forward, these teams’ proximity to the business and growing strategic importance mean they are in a good position to deliver greater value to their organizations in three critical ways.

CCPA’s Impact: Businesses Prepare for Fall Surge in Data Subject Requests

In a customer set with more than 16 million consumer records — with consumer records being defined as a single, individual record associated with a unique email address within a database — DataGrail found that people are largely taking action to control their privacy by exercising rights provided by the CCPA.

Consumers opt-out of their personal information being sold “most” of the time, and deletion requests make up 31% of all data subject requests. Twenty-one percent of consumers have accessed their data thanks to the new regulations.

Here’s Why October Is the Perfect Time to Pressure-Test Holiday Strategies

With consumers still spending – and their evolving shopping preferences and behaviors becoming increasingly clear for Halloween and beyond – October presents a prime opportunity for retailers to pressure-test and refine their holiday 2020 strategies. 

Here are three considerations as we enter one of the most critical quarters in retail’s history.

Location Weekly: BMW Geo-Fencing, Gimbal Acquiring TrueX, Amazon One Payments

In this episode of Location Weekly, the Location-Based Marketing Association covers BMW geo-fencing E-Drive zones, IKEA’s “Buy With Time” campaign in Dubai, Gimbal acquiring TrueX from Disney, and Amazon One letting you pay with a wave of your hand.