News and Analysis
Report: Consumers Have Less Debt, More Uncertainty
The good news is that almost one-third of American adults are debt-free. The less good news is that inflation is on the uptick, and they’re worried about healthcare costs, and poor leadership and government fraud—with 42% of respondents giving equal weight to each issue. Nevertheless, according to Resonate’s Spring 2025 Outlook Consumer Trends Report, U.S. […]
Why Disney Gets Phygital Right
First, you’ll hear a lot of the term “phygital” (the convergence of physical and digital) throughout 2025. It’s the theme of our Street Fight LIVE Summit on September 18th. Although the term itself has been around for years, technology and devices have finally caught up to the word. Consumers expect brands to know them as […]
Snack Brand LesserEvil Discusses OOH
You’ve got to love OOH if you’re a brand marketer. It’s location-based, has real-time and locational relevance, and there are no pesky brand-safety issues to worry about. The Out of Home Advertising Association of America (OAAA) is gearing up for the 2025 OOH Media Conference May 5-7, and some esteemed brands will be represented not […]
Commentary
5 Generative AI Tools for SMB Marketing
Staying ahead of the curve in SMB marketing is more than just a competitive advantage; it can be the key to survival. As the martech landscape evolves, more business owners are finding themselves dealing with the challenge of producing engaging, relevant, and unique content that can cut through the noise and capture the attention of […]
The Mall of the Future
The media love to show pictures of vacant and deteriorating malls. But the reality is that the mall isn’t dying. It’s just changing. Let’s think back to 1992 when The Mall of America opened and became a destination — not just for shopping but for dining and playing. It’s now a major tourist attraction and […]
Jordan Blakesley Answers the Question: Do You Really Need PR?
Jordan Blakesley is the founder of B Public Relations (BPR), a company that manages 24 PR professionals in five cities. In addition to SMB boutiques and independent hotels, destinations, and restaurants, the company works with many multi-location brands, including Snooze, an AM Eatery, Next Level Burger, and King’s Seafood Company. We have observed at Street […]
Latest Posts
Retail Media – Enabling Brands to Shift to an Audience-first Mindset
While retail media can trace its history back decades to humble in-store signage, cardboard cutout displays, and sampling tables, the retail media networks of 2024 are some of the most advanced advertising channels ever created. And with this sector forecast to hit a staggering $140bn ad spend worldwide this year, it has yet to fully […]
Placer.ai and TapClicks Partner for Deeper Marketing Analytics
Placer.ai, the leader in location analytics, and TapClicks, the leading provider of Smart Marketing solutions, have partnered to integrate real-time foot traffic data into TapClicks’ omni-channel reporting platform. This collaboration advances the ability for marketers to gain deeper insights into consumer behavior and thereby more conclusively prove the effectiveness of marketing campaigns. In conversation with […]
RM + AI = $$ (Retail Media Gets Smarter)
RM = retail media. It’s booming now as retailers, airlines, and restaurants launch their networks to enable in- and out-of-store marketing to consumers and prospects. AI = artificial intelligence (of course). MULO (multi-location) brands can have huge amounts of data and numerous ways to monitor in-store behavior, but if they’re not using automation to inform advertising […]
MULO Brands With Soul: A New Mini-Series
The term “soul” is all relative. Many MULO (multi-location) brands today aim to stay in business and thrive. They incorporate new technologies into their operations, aim to hire and retain competent and loyal employees and ensure they are selling/serving the products/foods/services that today’s consumers want (and that their marketing is well-targeted and cost-effective). So, where […]
BOOM: Retail is Rising!
Shopping center occupancy rates have dropped for the first time in a decade. According to Cushman & Wakefield, the retail vacancy rate is 5.4%, as reported in the New York Times. The article goes on to report on new and expanded shopping centers and malls throughout the U.S. This is consistent with a recent Street Fight […]
Building Brand Trust Is Multi-Dimensional
In this post-truth era, when the public trust has eroded around news sources, government, healthcare institutions, and myriad other pillars of society, trust and authenticity are difficult to establish. Now add a layer of brand verticals. What happens to brand trust? Vevo, MAGNA, and media agency Initiative conducted a survey of 5,000 U.S. consumers this […]
30K Feet OOH! Targeted Airline Advertising
United Airlines just announced a new advertising program, targeting personalized ads to flyers based on demographics. Advertising to a captive audience on planes is nothing new. The original airline magazines and catalogs were popular back in the day. Pre-wi-fi, all we had to do was read paper media and watch and listen to whatever was […]
Connecting Retail Media Networks with Custom Audiences
Retail media networks (RMNs) are becoming a dominant force in the advertising world, propelled by the valuable first-party data they generate. This rise, however, also presents unintended challenges: the creation of walls around this data to protect consumer privacy and the retailer’s competitive advantage, resulting in a fragmented view of consumers. While safeguarding privacy is […]
Pump It Up! C-Store Innovations & News
The convenience store (C-store) is a MULO (multi-location) retailer we often take for granted. Most of us have stopped along the road for a hygiene break, a fuel refill (gas or electric), coffee, and perhaps even a snack and frosty beverage. Urban and suburban dwellers often rely on their neighborhood 24-hour MULO store for late-night […]
The Robot in Your Dressing Room
Walmart and Amazon are leading the charge in launching new technologies that use AR (augmented reality) and VR (virtual reality) to enable prospective shoppers to “try on” everything from cosmetics to eyewear to fashion. Called “the next step in retail evolution,” virtual try-on technology: May reduce online shopping returns because consumers can better understand how an […]
Why TV Remains the Heartbeat of Local Connection