News and Analysis
Places Scout Acquired: Yext’s AI-Driven Future
Yext is rapidly redefining digital presence management through a strategic combination of AI-driven automation, competitive intelligence, and omnichannel customer engagement. The company’s latest acquisition of Places Scout, alongside its earlier purchase of Hearsay Systems and the launch of AI Review Generation, solidifies its position as a leader in helping multi-location businesses optimize visibility, outperform competitors, […]
Monday Morning Quarterbacking: Super Bowl Ad Review
If we didn’t do our gameplay replay of Super Bowl ad trends, we would be derelict as business media covering the media landscape. At $7-8M for a 30-second spot, big brands (and well-funded scaling brands) continue investing in this aspect of their media mixes. That’s a hefty spend, and unless it’s tied to other media […]
Unlocking Local Consumer Behavior: Foot Traffic Data Reshaping Fast-Food Strategies
Understanding consumer movement patterns is key to staying ahead. Foot traffic — the measurement of consumer visits to physical locations—provides critical insights into customer behavior, revealing trends in brand popularity, regional loyalty, and competitive positioning. dataplor, a leader in global location intelligence, has released a foot traffic analysis showcasing how these patterns shape fast-food preferences […]
Commentary
What CTV Can Learn From OOH Advertising Measurement
What if I told you (in Lawrence Fishbourne’s best Morpheus voice) that in some circles, OOH measurement is, in fact, more advanced than CTV’s equivalent? And that CTV has a lot to learn from its much older, but just as rapidly innovating, advertising brethren. Billboards, bus shelters, and airports in the public space are getting […]
Building a Successful Experiential Marketing Campaign on a Budget
For many businesses, the most significant disadvantage of an experiential marketing campaign is the price tag. Depending on the event you plan, the number of guests you invite, and the location you choose, the costs associated with your event can ring up to tens of thousands of dollars. Fortunately, I can fill you in on […]
Meet a New Flock of Local Influencers: An Interview with Emily Steele of Hummingbirds
Meltwater recently reported on “influencer fatigue” and asserted that only 3 percent of consumers are still swayed by the opinions of celebrities. But we all know that word-of-mouth marketing and targeted social media with the help of local influencers can still be highly effective tactics. A new breed (or should we say flock*) of influencers […]
Latest Posts
Who is Today’s Franchisee?
The answer is, “It could be anyone!” Among the new breed of franchisee (in addition to celebrities and private equity firms) are what we call “corporate refugees.” Experienced business professionals are burning out and aging out of big businesses and seeking autonomy, ownership, and creativity; they seek ways to operate and scale businesses without some […]
Is Bankruptcy the New Normal for MULO Brands?
Over the past year, we’ve featured many articles about multi-location (MULO) brands that declared bankruptcy (BUSTs). But we’ve also seen brands emerge from bankruptcy, become part of other companies (like Bed Bath & Beyond and Overstock), and/or change their business model to be online-only (as Lord & Taylor did with its iconic brand). Some other […]
BUST: No-Booze Retailers
Although the alcohol-free cocktail market is on the upswing (over $162B in revenue this year), MULO (multi-location) retailers devoted to booze-free beverages seem to be struggling. Boisson was founded in Brooklyn in 2021 and expanded to Miami and Los Angeles. Although the company was planning on international expansion, it recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy […]
Flying Fries: Autonomous Delivery Takes Off!
Imagine this… You use your phone to order your pizza or burger (or perhaps a t-shirt because you didn’t pack properly for the weather) from a remote location. Within the hour, a drone, driverless car, or other autonomous “thing” brings you your food and beverage or fashion statement. What was considered sci-fi a mere few […]
How To Sustain Media Buys in Black-Owned Media
No single source seems able to pinpoint just how much brands allocate in dollars to ad inventory on Black-owned media in the U.S. But everyone seems to agree it should be more. This article cites media tracker Maven, which says there are upwards of 2,500 diverse-owned publishers alone and that 35% of those are Black-owned. […]
The MULO Dozen: April Brands in Review
Another April …another 12 innovations, booms, busts, and leadership changes in the MULO (multi-location) world. Retailers and restaurants are always scaling, shrinking, and experimenting with new innovation, footprints, business models, and technologies. In addition to covering many of them throughout the month, these end-of-month wrap-ups are designed to give you even more news and ideas. Speaking […]
BUST: A Timeless Ice Cream Brand Melts
Oberweis Ice Cream and Dairy was founded in 1927 and is an iconic Midwest retail brand. It recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and is in the process of reorganizing. The company operates 43 locations in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Missouri. While other ice cream brands thrive, Oberweis owes about $4 million to 20 creditors […]
Hidden Nuggets in Local Address Data for Retail Decisions
It’s no secret that the past few years have been extremely challenging for inventory managers. In 2021 and early 2022, brands faced widespread inventory shortages, while the latter half of 2022 and 2023 saw massive excess inventory levels (as much as $740 billion in unsold goods) as brands worked to counteract the previous year’s shortages […]
Tinuiti Report: Temu Takes a Break
Somebody must have given Temu a talking to. The e-commerce brand that offers very competitively priced items was glomming up ad inventory across social media throughout 2023 to the consternation of its competitors. And then, just like that… it receded. Temu, which increased its ad spending a whopping 1,000% in 2023 from the previous year […]
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, […]
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