News and Analysis
Self-Checkout Grows Up (and Sometimes Phases Out)
As the cost of labor skyrockets (especially in California) and the size of the qualified talent pool shrinks for MULO (multi-location) brands, retailers and restaurants are looking for ways to automate and streamline all aspects of their operations. Self-checkout was introduced in the 1980s but didn’t take off and proliferate until 2001. Since their mass roll-out, […]
Another ‘Tainment Category Sprouts Up
You’ve likely heard of eatertainment and sportstainment. But a new category of ‘tainment is out in the field — agritainment! A huge complex in Arizona (on the site of a family farm) has been converted into a space where people can eat, learn about farming, participate in fun activities, and pick fruits and vegetables in season. […]
City Mattress Rests Easy with Agital
Just because it’s called City Mattress doesn’t mean it’s off-limits to suburbanites or dwellers of the exurbs. At least that’s if performance-marketing agency Agital has anything to say about it. The agency developed a cross-channel marketing strategy to drive foot traffic to physical stores by using the brand’s existing customer data bases for its 30+ […]
Commentary
Hyperlocal Restaurant Advertising Hits CTV
Roku’s new partnership with DoorDash builds a channel for CTV advertising for local restaurants that already work with DoorDash. The multi-year deal in North America offers DoorDash merchants the ability to buy and deploy interactive and shoppable ads that let users click-to-order food deliveries on the spot.
4 Reasons to Hesitate Before Using AI to Create Content
AI can’t build a differentiated brand. It can’t capture the expertise of your thought leaders. And your customers are discerning enough to tell the difference between automated and human-written content. For all three of these reasons, organizations should at least hesitate before using AI to create content.
Latest Posts
Brand Halloween Holiday Creep 2023
Before you could even put away your beach chair and utter “Pumpkin Spice,” Halloween accessories, boxes of tinsel, faux trees, and December lights began thier holiday creep and began to appear on store shelves. MULO (multi-location) retailers have changed the traditional sales cycle and accelerated the holiday shopping schedule. Halloween 2023 began in July, as […]
Grocers Navigate the Shift from E-commerce to In-Store
More than half of e-commerce grocery customers have left the channel since last year. Where have they gone, and what can grocers do to bring them back? That’s the question many supermarket chains and retail marketers are trying to answer. According to new data from SymphonyAI Retail CPG, 52% of e-commerce grocery customers have left […]
BUST: The Wrong Time for Rite Aid
Bankruptcies and store closings have hit the retail world hard this year. Bed Bath & Beyond was the most notable, and Christmas Tree Shops and Jenny Craig are among the other retail brands that closed doors in 2023. Rite Aid is the latest MULO (multi-location) brand to suffer the impact of retail shrinkage. Although the […]
7 Ways to Use AI Responsibly for Multi-Location Marketing
AI is no longer a thing of the future. It’s something that’s here—and it’s here to stay. In fact, more than 80% of marketers are currently using AI tools. But what are some practical applications of AI for multi-location marketing and how can you use it to streamline processes and improve campaigns? We’re sharing seven […]
Labor Day Retail Trend: In-Store Shoppers Search for ‘Seasonal Delights’
As Labor Day weekend approaches, consumers across the United States are gearing up for a unique shopping experience. While online shopping has become a significant part of daily life for most Americans, the holiday weekend is expected to witness a surge in in-store shopping. A recent survey of Labor Day shopping preferences conducted by Vibenomics, […]
AdTech Leaders Navigate Ethical Frontiers for Generative AI
Generative AI has had a breakout year in 2023, but as more adtech companies adopt the technology to optimize campaigns, analyze behavior, and personalize both online and offline experiences, consumers are pushing back. According to a survey by Salesforce, there’s a growing distrust of AI and companies that use it. The race to build out […]
New Partnership Seeks to Address CTV Advertising Gaps
Let’s hear it for the lower funnel: that could be the rallying cry of QSR and financial-services clients this fourth quarter. Amid possible economic softening, the lower funnel is a tried and true performance-marketing path for all kinds of KPI’s from engagement to sales. To more effectively measure sales outcomes from lower-funnel marketing, Attain, a permissioned-commerce […]
Rowan: The Innovative Brand Piercing a Market Need
Piercings (ear, nose, tongue, and other unmentionable body parts) have existed for centuries. In fact, some of the earliest evidence of body piercing dates back 5300 years! You can be pretty sure that when the mummy had their ears pierced, the conditions were less-than-sterile. Ear- and body-piercing studios are commonplace these days, as body modification […]
Seedtag Analysis: Parents More Focused on Children’s Health for Back-to-School
As Managing Director, U.S., for Seedtag, Brian Danzis must be keenly aware of trends and changes in all aspects of digital and linear media to drive growth for the company’s clients, which have included Applebee’s, Gillette, JetBlue, and the NBA. For the past several weeks, he’s been focused on the back-to-school shopping season and how […]
What Can We Learn from Subway’s Battered Online Reputation?
The biggest story to come out of the Nation’s Restaurant News’ Top 500 rankings in 2023 wasn’t who was on top, but that Subway reputation issues had tumbled it to the bottom. After decades of expansion that led to Subway becoming the world’s largest fast food chain in terms of locations by the early 2000s, […]
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