News and Analysis
Blis AI Platform Offers Deeper Targeting
Blis, recently acquired by T-Mobile, has launched Blis AI, a platform that uses foot traffic data and other real-world signals such as in-store sales to help brands with audience building and media planning. If a brand wants to reach moms during back-to-school shopping season, they can enter KPI parameters such as “foot traffic,” and Blis […]
Swiftly Program Enables Circle K and its Brand Partners
Retail technology platform Swiftly has partnered with Circle K, a mobility platform, to make it easier for alcohol buyers to get cash back rebates, eliminating the friction and time waste involved in traditional mail-in ones. Swiftly’s Alcohol Cashback platform works with a Circle K app that enables targeted, real-time promotions by product, category, and geography. […]
Meet Pilates Franchise Power Woman Sarah Luna
Sarah Luna is the Founder and CEO of Pilates Addiction. The new brand is launching in California and New York, with plans to expand nationally through franchising. Pilates focuses on muscular balance and can improve strength and flexibility, and is gaining popularity worldwide. The Pilates and Yoga studio market is anticipated to grow from approximately […]
Commentary
Sick of MFA sites? Protect Your Brand and Ad Dollars
Ever since the ANA put real numbers around the scope of the problem with “made-for-advertising” or MFA sites, advertisers have been up in arms—and understandably so. The idea that these essentially worthless ad placements represent 21 percent of impressions and 15 percent of overall ad spend is unacceptable. And yet our industry has accepted it—and […]
Streets Ahead: Tiktok Ban Looming, Trial Reels
In this week’s Streets Ahead update, SOCi discusses the looming TikTok ban and the Instagram roll out of Trial Reels. TikTok Ban Looming The News The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled on Friday in favor of the government, affirming that TikTok must divest from its parent company, ByteDance, by January […]
Why MULO Brands Should Consider a Neighborhood-Level Marketing Strategy
Enhanced digital marketing tools are making it easier to connect with local audiences at scale. One of the most effective ways to leverage these tools is through a neighborhood-level marketing strategy, a highly focused approach to targeting specific neighborhoods instead of broader, more generalized areas. Particularly for multi-location businesses, embracing local methods can help engage […]
Latest Posts
More Than a Comfy Bed: What Makes a Great MULO Hotel Brand?
We may not think of a hotel or a motel in the same light as retailers and restaurants. However, they are still MULO (multi-location) brands. Consumers search for them, consider their ratings, and make selections based on a wide range of factors. NerdWallet just published its list of “best hotel brands” for 2025. The criteria […]
Move Along, TikTok; Gen Z Is Growing Up
With the fate of TikTok in the U.S. changing almost daily, Gen Z is moving on. As generational demographic groups age, their relationship to the Web changes. This generation, those born between 1997 and 2012, has reached the stage of wanting deep learning and reliable information that is less about entertainment and more about life […]
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 […]
3 Trends & Stats from Pew Research Center Every MULO Marketer Needs to Know
Pew Research is one of my favorite sources of detailed and reliable consumer trends. (Unlike some media, Street Fight actually DOES fact-check! 🙂 ). New data released by the company has implications for all brands, but especially for MULO (multi-location) operators and agencies as we head into the new year. here are the trends that […]
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 […]
Screenverse President Assesses the RMN, DOOH, Programmatic Landscape
Adam Malone, co-Founder and President of Screenverse, predicts that retailers will all want to own and operate their own ad networks. Outside of the top 5-8 retailers, however, the vast majority of retailers would be best served teaming up and supporting third-party networks. This scenario may not become a reality in 2025, but Malone says […]
The Last 2025 Predictions Article You Need to Read
Admit it… We’re all getting a little tired of seeing the “Greatest Hits & Stats of 2024” and the “Predictions for 2025” articles that are proliferating throughout the media. And, most of us are now scrolling and scanning rather than spending massive amounts of time reading and ruminating. So here, in snackable form, is the […]
Beyond Burgers & Fries: 10 Fast Food Trends for 2025
Fast food and fast casual dining are massive categories within the MULO (multi-location) ecosystem. Although they are related, fast casual dining usually entails sit-down service and more menu options, whereas fast food usually entails a smaller list of choices and different ambiance. Options for hamburgers, pizza, wings, tacos, and other “grab and go” foods exist […]
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 […]
Let’s Get Phygital in 2025
Phygital is hardly a new word. The term was first coined in 2007 by Chris Weil, former chairman and CEO of Momentum Worldwide. Like many concepts, many marketing professionals take credit for coming up with the term, but ownership doesn’t matter here. What’s meaningful is that the term is having a huge resurgence — almost […]
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