News and Analysis
NBCUniversal Taps Guideline for Smarter, Data-Driven Advertising
Guideline and NBCUniversal have announced the expansion of their partnership to bolster NBCUniversal’s data-driven strategies across ad sales. The collaboration highlights how major media companies are leaning into predictive analytics to stay competitive in a fragmented advertising marketplace. Navigating a Fragmented Market The advertising ecosystem continues to be reshaped by cross-platform consumption, shifting budgets, and […]
The Skinny on FAT Brands with Elaine Patel
We all know that the relationship between a corporate MULO (multi-location) brand and its local operators can sometimes be challenging. How do you keep the integrity of your brand whole while supporting the entrepreneurial people who run your day-to-day and regional operations? Elaine Patel is one woman who has many of those answers. Elaine Patel […]
Flamel.ai Expands Suite of AI Tools to Power Franchise Growth
Flamel.ai announced a new suite of product capabilities that bring advanced content creation, cross-platform scheduling, and localized advertising to every customer touchpoint. The updates extend Flamel.ai’s mission to help franchisors scale marketing while maintaining local authenticity and brand consistency. The September product release includes: Social Ad Playbooks — automated Meta campaign templates that franchisors can […]
Commentary
Identify Relevant News Outlets and Publications
When brands engage with PR, they typically look for more than just media exposure. Their goal is to secure meaningful media exposure that boosts their brand authority. PR is only valuable if it gets a brand’s story in outlets and publications that connect with its target audience. To help their clients reach that goal, publicists […]
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 […]
Latest Posts
Continuously Adapting as Your Target Audience Evolves
PR professionals establish their clients’ campaigns on proven strategies, but they also adapt those strategies as campaigns unfold to make sure they are performing optimally. One factor that can significantly impact how they adapt strategies is the evolution of the client’s perfect target audience. Identifying the perfect target audience is one of the earliest steps […]
‘Mellow’ From PetFriendly Helps Calm Pet Anxiety
Is there a pet owner who has never come home to a piece of damaged furniture, a shredded shoe, or mangle remote control? Unlikely. PetFriendly believes a little understanding is in order. Pets are like people in that they, too, have emotions, including anxiety. So many stimuli can harsh a pet’s mellow that we don’t […]
MULO Brands With Soul: January Picks
When tragedy strikes, the true MULO (multi-location) brand soul emerges. First, our hearts go out to all the people and businesses devastated by the LA fire. As of this writing, more than 10K homes and businesses have been destroyed. Close to 200K people are currently displaced. The media has been packed with stories of celebrities […]
Will Chicken Flicks Be the New Hallmark Movies?
Chick-fil-A is looking into creating its own streaming media network. Focusing on family-friendly programming, the MULO (multi-location) brand , Chick-fil-A , has been considering building its own proprietary network playlist. After all, that strategy worked for Hallmark, which is known as much for its romance, mystery, and family programming as it is for its greeting […]
MoviePass Wants Cinephiles to ‘Dream Bigger’
“We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep,” Shakespeare wrote in The Tempest. The line was appropriated in the 1941 film, The Maltese Falcon, whose titular object was much coveted amongst a group of underworld types, including fictional detective Sam Spade, played by Humphrey Bogart. Any […]
Streets Ahead: Tiktok Ban Deadline, Meta Moderation Shift
In this week’s Streets Ahead update, SOCi discusses the approaching TikTok ban deadline and the shift in moderation strategy by Meta TikTok’s Fate Hangs in the Balance as Ban Deadline Approaches The News The future of TikTok in the United States hangs in the balance as lawmakers and courts wrestle with a TikTok ban and […]
Night Market and Keen Join Forces to Transform Marketing for Brand Advertisers
At CES 2025, Night Market, the commerce agency affiliate of Horizon Media, and Keen Decision Systems introduced a strategic partnership designed to tackle pressing challenges in modern marketing. This collaboration brings together Night Market’s NEON platform—an AI-powered retail media and storefront optimization solution—and Keen’s adaptive marketing mix modeling software to deliver a unified, next-generation approach […]
Adjusting Tone and Language While Building the Perfect Target Audience
To streamline the pitching process, many public relations professionals will work from a pitch template that gives them a structure they can easily update with the information pertinent to any particular pitch. In addition to cutting down on the time it takes to prepare a pitch, templates also help to ensure important information for the […]
What I Saw in 2024: 10 MULO Trends and Predictions
As a journalist, I’m used to telling the stories that others pitch to me. (BTW…keep sending me your stats and news throughout 2025! You can reach me at [email protected].) Indulge me for a few minutes while I offer my perspectives on the year of MULO (multi-location) brands based on everything I’ve gathered. Here are my predictions […]
2025 Social Media Playbook: Authenticity, Originality, and Community-Driven Engagement
The era of trend-chasing is over. According to the newly released 2025 Sprout Social Index™, consumers are reshaping their expectations for brand behavior on social media. The verdict? Authenticity, originality, and personalized connections are no longer optional—they’re essential. This shift is more than a passing phase. As Rachael Goulet, Director of Social Media at Sprout […]
Street Fight’s Big 3
Street Fight Columns
Street Fight Categories
The Marketing Funnel Isn’t Evolving. It’s Dead.