News and Analysis
Matt Lopez: The Human Behind the Robots
Leading up to Street Fight LIVE 2025, we have been getting up close and personal with some of our speakers, encouraging them to share stories of how they found themselves in the MULO (multi-location) ecosystem. How will one of our speakers, Pepper, get to Microsoft’s headquarters? Not via Uber. But he does have a human guide […]
Study: OOH Ignites Sports Fans
Sports fans respond enthusiastically to humor, especially when they are reached with an OOH message inside the venue of an event. That’s according to a new report from the OAAA in conjunction with The Harris Poll, which found that those same fans tend to spend locally. According to the findings, sports fans act on OOH […]
Kindness (and Nature) Still Rule for Justin Freeman
Our column “Brands With Soul” comes alive on September 30th at Street Fight LIVE 2025, when a panel that includes Justin Freeman, Managing Director at the KINDR Foundation, takes the stage. As the search for retention of (human) talent becomes more important in the MULO (multi-location) ecosystem, company culture and leadership behaviors can make all […]
Commentary
Streets Ahead: Google Business Profile Reverifications and Meta Chatbots
In this week’s Streets Ahead update, SOCi discuss the issues regarding Google reverifications and explores Meta’s roll out of AI Chatbot features. Google Business Profile Reverifications The News In early March, the SEO community noticed a significant increase in locations requiring reverification on Google Business Profile, prompting many to temporarily halt updates. Last week, Google […]
The Rise of AI Ad Buying Agents: A Marketer’s Perspective
AI-driven ad buying is not new. From Google Ads’ “set-it-and-forget-it” approach to Meta’s dynamic audience targeting, the goal has always been to automate away the tedium of bidding and targeting. But with the more recent advancements in generative AI and deep learning, the promise is morphing into something more expansive: real-time, hyper-personalized ads that match […]
Streets Ahead: Instagram AI-Powered Search, TikTok Creator Search Insights
In this week’s Streets Ahead update, SOCi covers Instagram’s new AI-driven search feature and TikTok Creator Search Insights Instagram’s AI-Powered Search The News Instagram is testing an AI-powered search feature within the comments section, according to AdWeek. This new tool automatically generates AI-driven search summaries, offering users relevant context as they engage with posts. 🔹 […]
Latest Posts
Shein, Temu Pull Back on U.S. Ads
There aren’t many surprises in Tinuiti’s Q1 Digital Ad Report, but retailers will be interested to know what Temu and Shein are up to. Both seem to be playing possum when it comes to digital ads in the U.S., according to Tinuiti. The performance marketing agency recently released insights around Temu’s sudden pullback from Google Shopping […]
Uncertainty is the Only Thing Certain in AdTech: Take the Power Back
Google has had quite an interesting start to 2025. Just last month, the United States Department of Justice ruling that Google was operating as an advertising monopoly was quickly followed by the announcement that it plans to keep third-party cookies. And all of this comes after Google made significant changes to its search algorithm in […]
The MULO Dozen: April in Review
In April, Karla Jo Helms of JOTO PR Disruptors called our media outlet a “must-read for MULO (multi-location) brands navigating the fast-changing terrain of local, digital, and retail.” To that end, we bring you 12 top stories of each month from the retail, restaurant, service, franchise, hospitality, and convenience store ecosystem. What these brands are […]
Streets Ahead: ChatGPT Shopping and Yelp’s AI Call Feature
In this week’s Streets Ahead update, SOCi discusses ChatGPT introducing direct shopping and Yelp testing AI-powered call handling. ChatGPT’s New Shopping Experience The News OpenAI has introduced a new augmented shopping experience inside ChatGPT, enabling users to browse and buy products directly within the platform. The feature showcases detailed product information, customer reviews, and direct purchase […]
“Consumer Discovery is Now a Free-for-All” Declares SOCI in New Study
The SOCI 2025 Consumer Behavior Index (CBI) reveals that marketers need to shift gears when it comes to search, declaring the industry’s state “the marketing crisis you didn’t see coming.” The study has enormous implications, as traditional search is evolving rapidly. According to their late-breaking announcement based on the index, the strategies that MULO (multi-location) […]
Optimizing for AI: Future-Proof Your Website for Search
Over the years, there have been many significant improvements in how search engines function. While these improvements have meant new changes in how company execute their SEO (Search Engine Optimization) campaigns, for the most part, the core fundamentals have been the same. However, in the past few years, AI technology has changed everything. Reliance on […]
Gregg Majewski, CEO of Craveworthy Brands, on Restaurant Trends
Gregg Majewski is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Craveworthy Brands, a multi-concept restaurant platform company and franchisor that launched in 2023. Majewski has built the MULO (multi-location) company brick by brick, adding iconic brands such as viral Dirty Dough, Food Network-founded Taim Mediterranean Kitchen, and Southern California-favorite Fresh Brothers Pizza. Earlier this year, […]
10 Design Offers Four MULO Design Principles for Brick-and-Mortar
10 Design is an architectural design firm that has created retail spaces (and mixed-use complexes) globally. 10 Design asserts, “Brick and mortar retail isn’t dying. It’s evolving. The most successful retail spaces today merge commerce, culture, and community, turning shopping into an immersive experience.” That principle can be applied to MULO (multi-location) retail design in […]
A BOOM and a BUST: Harry & David & Hooters
Openings, expansions, and bankruptcies are standard fare in the MULO (multi-location) retail and restaurant space. This month, we saw one significant opening and one bankruptcy declaration in the MULO ecosystem. Harry & David recently announced they are getting back into the retail game. This 91-year-old seller of gift baskets and gourmet food items shuttered most of its […]
Aquarium Ad Is a 3D Fish Out of Water
First its ads had a Super Bowl presence earlier this year. Now the Georgia Aquarium is going big in out-of-home. A creative campaign by Doe-Anderson, an agency in Kentucky, launched two executions in Atlanta to let the locals know they have one of the country’s great aquariums right in their backyard. If you find yourself […]
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“Why Aren’t We in ChatGPT?”: The New Question Agencies Must Answer