News and Analysis
UNFI and Swiftly Bring State-of-the-Art Retail Marketing to the Grocery World
UNFI (United Natural Foods, Inc.) supplies 30K stores across North America, ranging from small three-store regional brands to huge brands like Whole Foods. The largest wholesale distributor to the U.S. and Canada specializes in groceries, frozen foods, produce, health and beauty products, deli items, and bakery items. But their scope isn’t limited to getting these […]
Placer.ai Releases 100 Retail and Dining Index
Placer.ai, a market intelligence platform, has released its Placer 100 Retail and Dining Index, which it plans to release monthly in order to provide an ongoing understanding of retail’s status, challenges, and potential for brands including Buffalo Wild Wings, Chili’s, Crunch Fitness, Warby Parker and other large retail chains. Location analytics including visit trends, trade […]
DIY Franchising: The Platform for Scaling SMBs
Over the past decade, platform and SaaS companies have emerged that enable a wide range of businesses to “plug and play” rather than create from scratch. Although franchise consultants and associations abound, Gregory Ugwi took a page from companies like LegalZoom and offers small businesses a wide range of easy-to-access professional help when they are […]
Commentary
In the Age of AI, 3 Must-Have Skills for Digital Marketers
Everything changed in November 2022. That’s when OpenAI’s ChatGPT launched to the public, and having a clear understanding of how to harness generative AI instantly became a requirement for digital marketers around the globe. In the eight months since generative AI went mainstream, the field of digital marketing has undergone a metamorphosis. Marketers today find […]
From Google to Social to Generative AI: The Evolution of Search Journeys
Remember when search ads were just a bunch of blue links? Believe it or not, that wasn’t that long ago – when a mention of search conjured a near-identical image in everyone’s minds. If you asked 100 people to describe their search journeys today, you might get 100 different answers. Those answers would almost certainly […]
Impossible? How to Actually Get a Return on Your Technology Investments
Technology investments have been a priority for most companies since before the pandemic, which brought new urgency to the implementation of new solutions. However, fully implementing a digital transformation is surprisingly uncommon – a new study found that only 15% of businesses with digital transformation programs have completed them. That low success rate is concerning because […]
Latest Posts
Ethan Chernofsky of Placer.ai on the Omnichannel Experience
One word we’ve seen non-stop in the MULO (multi-location) space over the past five years is OMNICHANNEL. Smartphones, the pandemic, and Amazon all accelerated this shopping style. The consumer not only decides which brands they like and what products they need (or want) but also how they want to buy them, pick them up, and […]
Unveiling the Crystal Ball: 5 Predictions for Digital Advertising in 2024
As we say goodbye to 2023 and look forward to 2024, the digital advertising landscape is poised (yet again) for significant shifts and transformations. Here are five bold predictions that are set to reshape digital advertising in 2024. Political Ad Spend Will Soar to Unexpected Heights Creating Unanticipated CPM pain for ALL Marketers and Brands […]
10 Things We Saw in the Multi-Location Brand Space in 2023
Of course, we’ll be publishing predictions for 2024 and beyond, but here’s a brief recap of some of the major shifts (and tiptoes in new directions) in the MULO (multi-location) brand space in 2023. The pandemic is over…the virus remains…and some shopping and dining trends have forever changed. We’ll detail some of those evolutions (or […]
Study: Higher Allocation to OOH Channel Boosts Performance
It’s time for media buyers to click their heels together three times and repeat: there’s no place like out-of-home (OOH). A study of ad-trends data from 2017-2022, the most recent data available, indicated that brands that re-allocated more of their media spending to the OOH channel saw increased effectiveness of campaign performance. Three verticals in […]
BOOM: Dina Mitchell Launches a Gluten-Free MULO Brand
Dina Mitchell was the brain behind The Tropical Smoothie Café brand in Nevada and Southern California. Starting with only 23 locations, the brand grew to 1,300 and Mitchell’s stores clinched several Franchise of the Year awards and she became the Area Developer of the Year. After fifteen years of growth (including a $22 million year) […]
The Evolution of Social Media Advertising in 2023: What Lies Ahead in 2024
In the rapidly shifting terrain of social media advertising, a single platform is stealing the spotlight, and it’s showing no signs of slowing down. TikTok, with its exponential growth, is racing ahead as one of the most prominent social platforms of 2023. But the story doesn’t end there. Meta, the tried and true veteran in […]
Using Low-risk, High-reward Enterprise GenAI for Marketing
There is a dizzying array of new generative AI solutions promising to optimize customer journeys and experiences. So it’s no surprise many digital marketers are ready to go all-in with the technology. In fact, 63% of marketing leaders plan to invest in Enterprise GenAI tools over the next two years. But taking a frenzied leap […]
Digital Advertisers Suit-Up for the Big Game
Is Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas REALLY almost here? Yep. On February 11th, teams (and the digital advertisers that leverage the game) will run onto the field and play to win. As we know, Super Bowl advertising has transformed from the early days of big 60-second TV spots to fully integrated campaigns that are […]
4 Bites of the CosMc’s Launch
Trade and consumer media was buzzing last week with news of the new brand launched by 68-year-old McDonald’s. This new beverage brand, CosMc’s, (that also serves a limited food menu) declares on its website: “At CosMc’s, you’ll find exactly what you need to take you to your happy place. And you’ll feel rejuvenated by more […]
Achieving MULO Marketing Success With Contextual Advertising
Not only can multi-location marketing be effective for businesses that have multiple brick-and-mortar locations, but it can also be an effective way to reach a larger audience and build brand awareness in the radius of store or shop locations. When using multi-location marketing, it is important to consider the different needs of each location, however, […]
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