News and Analysis
Meet the Robotproof Leader: An Interview with Matt Robison About Boosting Product Sales
Matt Robison is the Founder & CEO of a marketing agency called Robotproof. The company is aptly named because he has a unique perspective on how to boost product sales by entertaining and engaging humans — and training the people who sell to them — at multi-location retailers. Robotproof’s primary focus is experiential marketing — […]
How Retailers Are Getting More Mileage from Curbside Pickups
With the pandemic firmly in the rearview mirror, consumers have returned to stores en masse. Surveys show that shopping behaviors in 2023 are not all that different from 2019 — with a few big exceptions. Online shopping continues to be more popular today than it was before the pandemic, and BOPIS—buy online, pickup in-store—has also […]
BOOM: Beyond the Barbells (MULO Specialty Gyms Abound)
We live in a world obsessed with longevity and fitness. Exercise has long been a big business. The fitness industry had its renaissance in the 1970s and 80s when the widespread adoption of TV and insights into the role of working out in battling heart disease gave rise to the practices of aerobics and yoga. […]
Commentary
Verizon and UPS Team Up on Drone Delivery
The Location-Based Marketing Association covers Circle Graphics and POP trackers for OOH proof of posting as well as Verizon & UPS teaming up on drone delivery.
Predictions Roundup: Organic Search and Cookie Deprecation
Experts assess changes to local search and location marketing in the wake of Google search updates, privacy changes, and cookie depreciation.
Digital Advertising’s Big Moves in 2021
2020 was a challenging year for digital advertising, and there’s no reason to think 2021 won’t be as well. The industry is facing several issues, including privacy and cookies, ad tech dominance and ad fraud. And they’re all coming to a head now. With that in mind, here are five big moves I anticipate this […]
Latest Posts
How Email Marketing Will Evolve in the Next 5 Years
With a tool that enables us to reach millions of potential customers with the click of a button, it’s tempting to send out mass promotional emails that reach the maximum number of people possible, but besides having been done to death, that means missing out on huge opportunities. Over the years, email marketing has steadily been moving away from the newsletter and promotional blast to behaviorally driven, event-triggered, one-to-one messaging. In one word: personalization.
Location Weekly, Featuring Co-Founders of Geofencing Platform Bluedot
In this episode of Location Weekly, the Location-Based Marketing Association covers Fit:Match teaming with Brookfield for virtual fitting rooms in malls; Walmart, Cadillac, Fairview, and others transforming parking lots into virtual cinemas; and Uber buying Postmates for $2.65B. The team also hosts Emil Davityan and Filip Eldic, co-founders of Bluedot.
6 Ways to Use Martech Tools for Covid Compliance
Different industries are looking to manage the spread in different ways. For retailers, that might mean using artificial intelligence to make sure customers are following social distancing rules inside their stores. It might also mean using location data, beacons, and other mobile technologies to track where consumers are going during shutdowns or monitor employee compliance with local Covid regulations.
It’s worth noting that this is a sector that is evolving at breakneck speed. These are just a few of the ways the martech community is using its technology for Covid compliance right now.
Apple and Snap Signal Local AR Commerce Ambitions
Recent announcements from Snap and Apple at their respective developer conferences point to future connections between AR and local commerce.
Snap’s Local Lenses will let developers create geo-anchored persistent content that Snap users can discover through the camera interface. This will also include the ability for users to leave persistent AR graphics for friends to discover. The use case that Snap has promoted is more about fun and whimsy, including “painting” the world with digital and expressive graffiti. But the development could also include local storefront information.
Moving on to Apple, it similarly continues to show its AR aspirations. The latest is GeoAnchors for ARkit, announced at WWDC. These evoke AR’s location-based potential by letting users plant and discover spatially anchored graphics that are persistent across sessions and users.
During Covid Shutdowns, Brands Target Audiences with High Intent
With consumer behavior changing quickly, and so much about the future in flux, retailers are working harder to get a complete understanding of their shoppers as they go about their journeys between the digital and physical worlds, says Ubimo Co-Founder Ran Ben-Yair. Strategies specifically designed to target high-intent shoppers are moving into the forefront, as large retail brands come to terms with the unprecedented challenges of this new reality.
Brand Safety During Rapidly Changing Times
Our country has gone through several critical moments in recent history, navigating our way through a pandemic and undergoing a racial and cultural revolution. We’re seeing support from individuals and organizations large and small, but we’re also starting to see some tone-deaf content or misaligned messages as well. With everything going on, brand marketers need to be present and smart in regard to where their messages go and what they’re saying.
‘A Buyer’s Market’: Why OOH Is in Demand During the Pandemic
During a time when many other types of advertising have faltered, out-of-home (OOH) advertising is having a moment. Despite a nationwide pandemic, OOH activations are on the rise. Political spending on OOH media is up 75% compared to the same period in 2018, and direct-to-consumer brands are seeing increases in both aided and unaided brand awareness.
What’s driving the push? According to Quan CEO Brian Rappaport, there’s been a distinct change in consumer traffic patterns since the pandemic began. Brands that are capitalizing on those changes are reaching targeted groups of consumers at “firesale” prices.
Personalized Marketing is a Must Right Now
Today, marketers have the luxury of being able to see consumers through the entire advertising funnel, enabling them to target consumers based on where they are in the buying process — from introduction of a product all the way to purchase intent. Brands have the ability, either in-house or via third-party vendors, to create and target ads that scale cross-device and cross-channel, reducing repetition, eliminating ad fatigue, and enhancing consumer experience throughout the funnel.
They can, and should, A/B test different messages, offers, and calls to action in real time to determine what resonates with each consumer down to the color of the button that generates more engagement. Marketers can do all of this across programmatic display, video, social, on YouTube and over-the-top (OTT) TV. So, why aren’t they?
Location Weekly: Apple’s Move to Limit IDFAs
In this episode of Location Weekly, the Location-Based Marketing Association covers Apple’s move to limit IDFAs, Bluedot raising $9.1M, and the Fat Jewish bringing a mobile manicure truck to NYC. The team also hosts Scott McNulty, director of business development for Rio SEO.
Local Businesses Face Negative Reviews Due to Coronavirus Safety Requirements
Google has taken several important measures to assist businesses during the pandemic, but none so far can prevent customers angry about coronavirus-related restrictions from lashing out at businesses attempting to follow public health best practices or the letter of the local law. “The review space has never been harder than right now,” wrote GatherUp co-founder and reputation management expert Mike Blumenthal.
But there are also possible strategies for survival.
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Meta Is Automating Ads, But Brands Still Face a Bigger Problem