News and Analysis
Universal Ads, Backed by Comcast, Launches AI-Powered Video Generator
Universal Ads, a Comcast-owned advertising platform designed to make television as easy to buy as social media, has launched a new AI-powered video generator that lets advertisers produce broadcast-ready commercials in minutes. The move underscores Comcast’s broader strategy to invest in and modernize the adtech stack, making premium TV advertising accessible to businesses of all […]
This Hummingbird is Soaring! A Chat With Emily Steele
Influencers, influencers, creators, creators everywhere! “Where is the ROI and long-term benefit?” C-level executives are asking. Founder Emily Steele, is helping to answer that question and will take the stage at Street Fight LIVE 2025 to share the fast-paced success of her business and talk about how the creator economy is evolving, with an emphasis on […]
What’s Next at Yext? A Preview With Brooke Henderson
AI-powered search is clearly one of the hot topics today for both MULO (multi-location) brands, as well as single-location operators. Who better to prepare you for the massive changes that lie ahead than Brooke Henderson, VP of U.S. Strategic Partnerships at YEXT, a company that has led the industry in helping brands get “found” and […]
Commentary
From Pumpkin Spice to Prime Days: The Erosion of the Traditional Shopping Calendar
For years, shopping seasons were predictable. Black Friday, Back to School, and the holiday season provided distinct markers for consumers and retailers alike. Today, these events have blurred, creating an “always-on” shopping environment. Seasonal promotions now begin months ahead – Pumpkin Spice Lattes in August, Christmas decorations in September, and multiple annual Prime Days. This […]
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 […]
Latest Posts
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 […]
Early Spending Results are In! MULO BOOMs this Holiday Season
As of this writing, Black Friday and Cyber Monday (now seemingly extended to Cyber Week) are behind us. MULO (multi-location) pundits and agencies involved in retail and restaurant analyses and predictions are starting to call the winners and losers in the holiday Street Fight, which now involves battles between brands, products, SMBs, and MULO chains, […]
Street Fight LIVE Insights: Stopping at C-Stores with Mike Templeton
Some people collect snow globes or stickers on road trips. Others boast that they’ve seen all the National Parks. Still others have a thing for selfies in front of weird vintage structures. But Mike Templeton, one of the speakers at Street Fight LIVE stops at and collects insights from convenience stores (C-stores), the unsung heroes […]
The MULO Dozen: November in Review
As November and 2024 draws to a close, news from MULO (multi-location) brands has hardly slowed down! In fact, this season is a make-or-break for retailers, restaurants, C-stores, and service businesses as consumers travel near and far to eat, shop, and squeeze in those errands before the year ends. Of course, the biggest news of […]
Tinuiti’s CMO Tips for 2025
As if Google doesn’t have enough headaches, between the DOJ trial and calls for it to be broken up, now it has to contend with ChatGPT and Perplexity, which could destroy its search business. Those blue links of highlighted text curated on a Google search are becoming an endangered species, according Tinuiti’s Big Bets for […]
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