News and Analysis
Enterprise Local SEO Has a Visibility Problem — And AI Search Is Making It Worse
Enterprise brands and multi-location businesses are investing more than ever in local SEO. Bigger budgets. Advanced tools. Experienced in-house teams and agency partners. Yet many multi-location brands are still missing a critical piece of the puzzle: true visibility at the location level. The culprit isn’t execution. It’s measurement — or more precisely, the lack of […]
Seedtag and IRIS.TV Bring Program-Level AI Targeting to Connected TV
Seedtag and IRIS.TV have formed a partnership to expand privacy-first neuro-contextual targeting in connected TV (CTV). The integration brings IRIS.TV’s program-level content signals into Seedtag’s AI engine, Liz, to improve contextual precision, scale, and transparency for advertisers. The collaboration focuses on strengthening program- and scene-level targeting in CTV without relying on identity-based signals. By combining […]
Guideline Bets on an “AI Factory” to Reinvent Media Planning
Guideline has unveiled a major expansion of its artificial intelligence strategy with the launch of the Guideline AI Factory, an internal innovation engine designed to accelerate how AI powers its ad intelligence data products and media plan management (MPM) technologies. The initiative marks a shift from standalone analytics capabilities toward embedded intelligence that directly supports […]
Commentary
Why TV Remains the Heartbeat of Local Connection
In today’s increasingly digital world, fostering a sense of community can be challenging. Yet it’s not impossible. New research from Tenetic and CivicScience reveals that TV is the best medium at making people feel connected to their local communities–twice as effective as streaming content, twice as effective as digital video, and nearly three times better […]
Streets Ahead: Google Chat, and Instagram Reels
In this week’s Streets Ahead update, SOCi discusses Google enabling direct business chat in Maps & Search and Instagram unveiling retention insights for Reels Google Brings Chat to Maps The News Google has rolled out its Chat feature within Google Maps, giving users a direct way to message businesses via text or WhatsApp. Customers can […]
The Road Ahead: What Autonomous Cars Teach Us About Marketing Automation
The race toward fully autonomous cars fascinates me—not just for what it means for transportation, but for the lessons it offers those of us navigating the shifting lanes of marketing automation. Both fields are being reshaped by artificial intelligence. Both promise more efficiency and precision. And both, at their core, remind us that technology shines […]
Latest Posts
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 […]
“Louder” is No Longer a Marketing Strategy, According to new Cordial Study
We all know that AI is having a massive impact on how consumers search for goods and services. A new study by Cordial, a leader in messaging for enterprise retail marketing teams, reveals that brands (including MULO or multi-location companies) are woefully under-prepared to deal with its impact. The Cordial report, combining the survey results […]
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 […]
Streets Ahead: OpenAI User BackLash, Google Preferred Sources
In this week’s Streets Ahead update, SOCi discusses OpenAI reinstating GPT-4o following user backlash to GPT-5 rollout and Google personalizing Top Stories with New ‘Preferred Sources’ features. OpenAI Reinstates GPT-4o Following User Backlash to GPT-5 Rollout The News OpenAI has rolled back part of its highly publicized GPT-5 launch after a wave of criticism from […]
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 […]
5 MULO (Multi-Location) Trends We Can’t Ignore
We’re more than halfway through the year, and the consumer (and its artificial intelligence equivalents) have spoken! The MULO (multi-location) ecosystem is poised for a significant transformation. MULO comprises restaurants, retail, home and personal services businesses, hospitality, convenience stores, groceries, branded housing complexes, and other companies that have multiple brick-and-mortar locations. Here are some of […]
Are Discount Stores and Outlet Malls Still Relevant?
Long before Amazon, consumers would make excursions to factory outlet malls and wander the aisles of stores like Loehmann’s, seeking the ultimate bargain. Bargain shopping remains a great American pastime, and thrifting and upscale second-hand stores have joined the mix, alongside big-box, high-volume membership stores like Costco. Among the MULO (multi-location) discount store brands today […]
Pop-up Retail Abounds
We already know that the “big box” store model has its challenges these days. And micro store footprints have become a widespread alternative to high rents and excess inventory. Even Ikea is getting into the mini-store game. But this summer, another retail format is trending. The pop-up (like a food truck for shopping) is everywhere. Big […]
Streets Ahead: Perplexity’s Ranking Logic, Instagram Metrics
In this week’s Streets Ahead update, SOCi discusses Perplexity ranking patterns and Instagram’s data update insights. Inside Perplexity’s Ranking Logic: Why Classic SEO Still Matters The News A recent deep dive into how Perplexity ranks content—led by independent researcher Metehan Yesilyurt—suggests that good old-fashioned SEO still matters, even in this new era of AI search. […]
The Adult Arcade: Two Trends Converging
We’ve covered the rise of eatertainment. Multi-location (MULO) brands have discovered that incorporating entertainment, sports challenges (sportainment), and activities into their converging retail and restaurant models enables them to appeal to a vast and growing segment of the market. Add to that model the newstalgia trend (a mash-up of new and nostalgia). Brands are combining […]
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