News and Analysis
Self-Serve & Marketing Kiosks: The Ultimate in Phygital
Multi-location (MULO) brands have long been using various forms of digital advertising and transaction processing. Labor costs and shortages, combined with consumer demand and love of interactive experiences, have given rise to a whole new category of phygital (physical + digital) options and solutions. At the Summer Fancy Food Show, media and big box buyers were […]
Habit-Forming Content: Real Strategies from Brands Turning Videos Into Revenue
As businesses invest in expanding their social media presence, they should be clear about their purpose. Producing and sharing social media video content, even when that content goes viral, isn’t enough to justify their efforts. Businesses that benefit from social media marketing leverage their content to attract views, gain followers, and acquire leads by creating […]
New DoubleVerify Report Should Alarm Advertisers
Online advertising now represents nearly $800 billion in spending in 2025, up from a $374 billion market size in 2020. What else is up this year? A new report from DoubleVerify confirms the increases in fraud, AI bots, and ad blocking. Among the highlights for the North America market, based on a survey of 400 advertising […]
Commentary
Will the Privacy Push Kill the Addressability of Streaming TV Advertising?
As ad-supported streaming platforms gain momentum, they promise to revolutionize advertising by offering unprecedented addressability—tailoring ads to individual viewers based on their interests. However, this promise is at risk of being derailed by privacy regulations and the limitations of contextual targeting, which may force the industry to revert to strategies reminiscent of traditional TV. For […]
Streets Ahead: TikTok Past the Ban, Global AI Adoption
In this week’s Streets Ahead update, SOCi discusses the current status of TikTok and global AI adoption trends TikTok Past the Ban The News TikTok went offline for U.S. users on the evening of Saturday, January 18, shortly before a 2024 law’s deadline took effect on Sunday. Sixteen hours later, on the morning of January […]
Global Brands, Local Strategies: How Retail Media is Catering to Diverse Markets
As performance media and retail media converge, advertisers stand at a pivotal juncture to redefine consumer engagement within an increasingly complex shopping ecosystem. This convergence underscores the critical balance between maintaining a global brand identity and achieving regional relevance, highlighting the necessity for strategic collaboration between local and global teams. Breaking Down Silos: Redefining a […]
Latest Posts
Addressing Advertising’s Overreliance on the Open Web
In recent years, the allocation of advertising spend has failed to keep pace with rapid shifts in consumer behavior and technology capabilities. As a result, many brands are pouring tremendous spend into the open web, neglecting the fact that targeting capabilities and consumer attention aren’t what they used to be. At the same time, brand […]
More Ad Transparency, Control Come to RE/MAX
Brands that advertise on real-estate site RE/MAX, now have the benefit of centralized control over their data and ad operations via a media automation platform called Unify. The platform also enables brands to precisely target local audiences. As with any big-ticket purchase, the journey to buying or selling a home begins online, often times with […]
A First Glimpse Into Street Fight LIVE 2025
Street Fight LIVE made its comeback in 2024. Now, we’ll give you a sneak peek at the 2025 version. Although dormant for several years (due to the pandemic), the curated and dynamic event at Meta’s headquarters in Chicago was met with rave reviews from attendees, sponsors, and speakers. We believe it’s the only think tank conference that […]
Commerce Insights Fuel Brand Loyalty Through Integrated Marketing
Digital-first consumers are constantly exposed to shopping opportunities, from social media to the open web. While this presents marketers with an opportunity, it also poses a challenge: how can brands reach consumers at the right touchpoints in a way that resonates? The key is leveraging commerce insights. By tapping into first-party, intent and transaction data, […]
The MULO Dozen: February in Review
The MULO (multi-location) ecosystem is continuously re-inventing, expanding and shrinking, and enhancing the consumer experience with a wide range of new products, technologies, and ways to buy. Here are the trends of the month. Have news to share? Please e-mail [email protected] and join us in September for our Street Fight LIVE 2025 gathering, which will […]
Netflix Takes on YouTube. Should Podcasters and Advertisers Rejoice?
If we’re “Netflix and Chillin,’” consuming movies, streaming series, and other entertaining and inspiring content, why don’t we listen, watch and learn from podcast content creators too? Now we can. Netflix is entering the podcast market, leveraging its massive database of more than 300M subscribers (and growing). Podcasts also show no sign of slowing down […]
Streets Ahead: Cheeg Sues Google, Terakeet & AI Overviews
In this week’s Streets Ahead update, SOCi discusses the first major lawsuit against Google’s AI Overviews as well as the Terakeet study highlighting the positive impact of AI Overviews on website traffic. Chegg Sues Google Over AI Overviews, Claims Major Revenue Loss The News Chegg, a well-known education technology company specializing in study resources and […]
Church’s Wants to Make Your Day
A new female buddy comedy is playing in theaters, and Church’s Texas Chicken not only has a cameo role, but a marketing tie-in. “One of Them Days” stars SZA, who had her own star turn in Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl half-time show earlier this month, and Keke Palmer (“Akeelah and the Bee)” playing roommates who […]
5 Reasons the Media Ignores (or Trashes) Your Brand
As someone who has sat on “both sides of the desk” (as a marketer and now a research analyst, trend spotter, and content creator), I have a unique perspective on media exposure. The right press — online, conventional, or some combination — feeds your public image when consumers search for your brand. What MULO (multi-location) […]
Report: Consumers Have Less Debt, More Uncertainty
The good news is that almost one-third of American adults are debt-free. The less good news is that inflation is on the uptick, and they’re worried about healthcare costs, and poor leadership and government fraud—with 42% of respondents giving equal weight to each issue. Nevertheless, according to Resonate’s Spring 2025 Outlook Consumer Trends Report, U.S. […]
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