News and Analysis
Meet the Street Fight LIVE 2025 Speakers: Part 2
We’re just weeks away from Street Fight LIVE 2025 on September 30th in Los Angeles at Microsoft’s Playa Vista headquarters. What better place to tackle the huge impact that tech, AI, and digital media is having on the brick-and-mortar business ecosystem? Plus, the ecosystem itself is rapidly changing, with retailers, restaurants, service businesses, convenience stores, […]
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. […]
Commentary
Streets Ahead: ChatGPT and the Rise of AI Overviews
In this week’s Streets Ahead update, SOCi discusses the newly launched search feature in ChatGPT and the rise of AI Overviews for Google local search results. OpenAI’s New Search Feature Transforms ChatGPT The News OpenAI has introduced a new feature that brings real-time web search capabilities to ChatGPT, marking a significant upgrade from its previous reliance […]
Streets Ahead: Meta’s AI Search Engine, Foursquare Shutters App
In this week’s Streets Ahead update, we discuss Meta building an AI search engine and Foursquare shuttering it’s original app. Meta Building an AI Search Engine? The News Meta has reportedly been developing its own AI search engine, aiming to crawl and index the web for up-to-date information on current events and diverse topics to expand […]
Building Blocks of a Multi-location Marketing Campaign
In today’s increasingly competitive digital marketplace, multi-location brands face unique challenges formulating their geographically driven marketing strategies. From maintaining brand consistency to tailoring efforts for local markets, businesses with multiple locations must walk a fine line between brand consistency and local relevance. With the right approach, brands can address these challenges effectively and build campaigns […]
Latest Posts
Social Media: The Missing Puzzle Piece for Performance Media Success
Brand loyalty has evolved into a cornerstone of sustained success, rooted in emotional connections, trust and shared values rather than just prices or products. Loyal customers do more than return—they advocate, creating ripple effects that amplify a brand’s reach and resonance. In the commerce media, social media has become a pivotal tool for addressing gaps […]
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 […]
LoopMe Acquires Chartboost from Zynga, Driving AI-Powered Brand Advertising
LoopMe, a leader in AI-driven brand advertising, announced the acquisition of Chartboost, a prominent mobile advertising and monetization platform, from Zynga Inc., a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive Software (NASDAQ: TTWO). This strategic move cements the company’s position in leveraging artificial intelligence to deliver measurable outcomes for brands while expanding its influence in mobile app and […]
Grubhub Uses Donuts To Entice Local Sign-ups
When Grubhub wanted to let people know how its partnership with Amazon will work, it chose to activate in a pop-up event in Pioneer Park section of Chicago last month. Using a 12-foot inflatable donut to attract attention, the event was in support of Grubhub’s Delivery’s Other Half campaign in which Amazon Prime members do […]
The Humans Behind the Data at Placer Discover
Year-end can be a challenging time to bring a group of business professionals together for one final conference. Seasonal obligations, meeting fatigue, and EOY pressures are convenient excuses to skip that trip to New York. Unless, of course, the event organizer is Placer.ai. Location analytics hardly seems like a merry topic, but the organizing team behind Placer […]
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 […]
What’s Shwell in Attracting Hourly Workers?
No, that’s not a typo. MULO (multi-location) convenience store (C-store) brand Sheetz is opening a massive “Shwellness Center” across the street from one of its major locations in Pennsylvania. This center will offer some of the lifestyle benefits of its current Shwellness center (see below), as well as routine medical appointments, physical therapy, and behavior […]
Know Your Client’s Target Audience
Maximizing the impact of your communications — whether in marketing, public relations, or any other approach used to share a brand story — requires paying close attention to context. Without considering context, brands risk coming across as irrelevant or untrustworthy, even when they have a solid solution to a consumer problem. When context is properly […]
The Freezer Beyond the Grocery & C-Store
Cryotherapy is one of the latest categories to scale in the health, wellness, and longevity space. In this column, we’ve detailed how brick-and-mortar businesses have expanded far beyond the typical gym as the population ages and become more concerned about staying healthy longer. Highly specialized brands and franchises are offering body-related services like IVs. I […]
The Future Role of Agencies: Redefining Success with AI, Software, and Automation
The agency landscape is undergoing a seismic shift, driven by the growing reliance on AI, automated software, and modular technology stacks. Traditional models—built on labor-intensive execution and service-heavy financial structures—are rapidly evolving as agencies step into roles that blend technology, strategy, and consulting. This evolution represents an opportunity for agencies to lead with innovation, leveraging […]
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