News and Analysis
Marketers Are Changing How They Think About OOH — Here’s Why
Location data is increasingly being used to help retailers target outdoor ads to specific groups of consumers, while the ability to combine artificial intelligence with advanced techniques like travel pattern analysis is giving brands an even better understanding of customer routes.
Commentary
The Fight Against Facial Recognition Tech
Microsoft and Amazon suspended their sales of facial recognition technology to police departments in recent weeks amid nationwide protests against police brutality. IBM went even further, ceasing its research on the subject altogether.
It might be clever and intuitive, but facial recognition technology is highly invasive. Little wonder, then, that across the world, people are joining the fight against its implementation.
Data Enrichment, Your Business, and Your Career
Creating great customer experiences is ultimately what matters most, and this requires a single customer view and data enrichment techniques for a deep understanding of your customer. Organizations that rely on only first-party data are at a disadvantage. They risk missing out on valuable new information as time passes. For example, did your customer just move to a new state or buy a new home?
How Connected TV Ads Help SMBs Recover from Crisis
One medium that will be especially helpful in the recovery is connected TV (CTV). About three-quarters of households own connected TVs, so SMBs can easily reach the public through this ad-supported medium as life returns to normal.
There are many opportunities to excel both in the current and post-pandemic marketing landscape, but businesses will only be able to take advantage of them if they intelligently create demand. Because of this, SMBs should use audience and measurement data to inform their CTV advertising strategies as markets reopen.
Latest Posts
Beyond SEO: How to Reframe the Local Marketing Conversation
“I am looking for a language framework that helps business understand that the idea of ranking only makes sense in the context of not just getting more customers but also keeping them. While businesses might want a floodgate of leads, there are many things that they could be doing that would be cost-effective and productive,” Mike Blumenthal tells David Mihm in their latest Street Fight discussion.
6 Influencer Marketing Platforms for Brands
As some of the most visual social channels, Instagram, Snapchat, and Pinterest have become important tools for brand marketers. These are also the channels most likely to be used by so-called “influencers,” the social media stars who frequently partner with brands to promote products to their online followers. Influencer marketing has become a big business, with 31% of retailers now working with brand advocates to become influencers and 28% using paid celebrity influencers to spread the word about their products and services.
Here are six popular influencer marketing platforms being used by retailers and brands right now.
Restaurant POS System Trends to Look Out for in 2019
2019 is all about connectivity when it comes to POS systems. The role of the POS system, used primarily for billing, has evolved into an operations hub that connects all your online order sources, guest-facing technology, and your kitchen (via Kitchen Display Systems). It’s the foundation of a technical system that helps you manage your restaurant operations better on the whole. Here are the cutting-edge trends.
Retailers Use Visual Channels to Attract Last-Minute Mother’s Day Shoppers
Spending on Mother’s Day is expected to reach $25 billion this year, with consumers flocking to department stores and florists in search of the perfect gifts for Mom. The bulk of that spending will happen in the next few days, as foot traffic data from the location platform GroundTruth reveals that Americans tend to wait until the very last minute to shop for Mother’s Day gifts.
What are retailers around the country doing to prepare for the onslaught of last-minute shoppers? More than ever before, retailers are leaning on visual marketing opportunities to drive last-minute sales.
Heard on the Street, Episode 25: Location, Brand Evolution, and Career Lessons, with Factual
Brands want to engage consumers. Though that’s an obvious statement and a universal truth, how it happens is a moving target that shifts with consumer technology. Success in the ad tech world requires intellectual curiosity about emerging tech and a desire to dig into the details.
Factual VP of Agency & Strategic Partnerships Ocean Fine considers that curiosity essential to her success and the victories of any company in ad tech. The latest guest on Street Fight’s Heard on the Street Podcast, she’s inspired by the smartphone’s transformation and advises marketing execs to be attack-ready for all emerging tech.
The Promise of XR and 5G
As we approach the 5G era, the dramatic quantum leap of 5G service enhances many creative capabilities in XR, providing richer user experiences and giving marketers and developers a larger digital playground to expand their creative talents.
Still, there’s confusion in the market over how these innovations work and, critically, how they can work together. Let’s take a closer look.
Report: Websites and GMB Profiles Both Essential for Local Businesses
A whopping 64% of respondents indicated relying on Google My Business to find contact information for local business, suggesting it’s an indispensable platform. Yet consumers still trust local business websites most of all, and only 8% say they never consult a business’ website when making shopping decisions.
Brands Push Forward with Automation, But Privacy and Creepiness Concerns Remain
“Marketing automation is all the rage. Everyone feels like they need to ‘do it’ or they’ll be left behind. That rush to do the latest ‘new thing’ without thoughtful planning often leads to failure,” says Winston Lord, co-founder of Venga, a guest management platform that uses automation to enhance customer experiences. “It’s critical to build a 360 degree view of your client and your strategy before implementing marketing automation.”
Programmatic OOH Is Real. Why Isn’t Your Agency Using It More?
The ad tech industry’s state of flux and disarray spurs confusion and buyer skepticism of real innovation. This is particularly prevalent in rapidly evolving areas like programmatic that also contend with existing legacy trust issues. I come across this every day, as there seems to be a persistent rumor that programmatic Out of Home (OOH) is “fake,” and that, when looking under the hood, programmatic OOH is merely an automated process for reserving and purchasing inventory. This misconception results in missed opportunities for marketers.
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