News and Analysis
The MULO Dozen: April in Review
In April, Karla Jo Helms of JOTO PR Disruptors called our media outlet a “must-read for MULO (multi-location) brands navigating the fast-changing terrain of local, digital, and retail.” To that end, we bring you 12 top stories of each month from the retail, restaurant, service, franchise, hospitality, and convenience store ecosystem. What these brands are […]
“Consumer Discovery is Now a Free-for-All” Declares SOCI in New Study
The SOCI 2025 Consumer Behavior Index (CBI) reveals that marketers need to shift gears when it comes to search, declaring the industry’s state “the marketing crisis you didn’t see coming.” The study has enormous implications, as traditional search is evolving rapidly. According to their late-breaking announcement based on the index, the strategies that MULO (multi-location) […]
Optimizing for AI: Future-Proof Your Website for Search
Over the years, there have been many significant improvements in how search engines function. While these improvements have meant new changes in how company execute their SEO (Search Engine Optimization) campaigns, for the most part, the core fundamentals have been the same. However, in the past few years, AI technology has changed everything. Reliance on […]
Commentary
The Demise of Third-Party Cookies is CTV’s Opportunity to Shine
On January 4th, we finally reached the beginning of the end of third-party cookies (for real this time?) On that date, Google Chrome began removing 3rd party cookies from 1% of traffic. By the end of the year, 3rd party cookies will be completely eliminated from Chrome and opening a new opportunity for CTV. This […]
Navigating the Post-Cookie Landscape: Challenges and Opportunities for Brands
Google’s long-awaited post-cookie world is now here, with the company officially turning off cookies for 1% of Chrome users last month. The loss of third-party cookies means that brands will lose one of the most frequently used ways to identify potential target audiences on the open web. Post-cookie, brands will have to find different ways […]
The Privacy Arms Race May Kill Ad Tech
A dangerous digital advertising arms race is brewing as browser makers try to prevent cross-site tracking. The desire of digital ad companies to keep tracking users, despite browsers’ preventative privacy measures, is leading our industry down a hazardous path for users, browser makers, and ad tech. In an effort to protect user privacy, browsers are […]
Latest Posts
MULO Brands With Soul July Pick: Walmart
“It’s not just wages. Retailers are treating employees in a more insidious way.” That was the headline of a recent opinion piece in the New York Times. The sad reality is that it may be true for many MULO (multi-location) retailers. But we at Street Fight want to focus on those MULO retailers with heart, […]
Ad-Tech Experts Weigh In on Using GenAI
“Experiments are easy, but scale is hard.” That’s according to Jennifer Fleck, Senior Principal at Slalom Consulting, who talked about the challenge of scaling GenAI initiatives. The key is in balancing innovation, risk and feasibility, she said. “Most of the GenAI we see happening at enterprise organizations right now is an ambitious idea that stays […]
EVs, Gas, and Targeted Marketing: The Future of Car Dealerships, According to Stirista
Car dealerships, like many MULO (multi-location) businesses, are evolving. You can now buy used cars online, some dealerships are opening showrooms in shopping centers (rather than on traditional lots), and consumers are shopping around for the best deals nationwide. About 18K car dealerships exist in the U.S. today, but how consumers shop at them (and […]
Klaviyo Integration: Leveraging Pinterest for Enhanced Social Commerce
Social commerce is growing rapidly, with US retail social-commerce sales projected to hit $80 billion, representing 5% of total US e-commerce by 2025. To stay competitive, brands must offer personalized experiences across various social media platforms. To better support this direction, Klaviyo has expanded its ecosystem of over 350 integrations with the addition of Pinterest. […]
The People Have Spoken: BrightLocal Reveals Review Ratings
When consumers search their small screens to decide where to shop, eat, buy groceries, or exercise, they often consult reviews. In fact, poor scores may send someone off to your competitors’ brands—never to return. We all know that UGC (user-generated content) and consumer reviews play a big role in decision-making today. The annual consumer review […]
Surveys 2.0: Chatmeter’s AI-Driven Solution for Enhanced Customer Insights
Chatmeter has announced the release of Surveys 2.0, a new solution from its Pulse Ai: Signals platform. This AI-driven tool offers multi-location brands a 360° view of customer insights by continuously analyzing survey data, reviews, and social data in real-time. This looks to be the first time such comprehensive, real-time analysis has been available in […]
The Billboard Now Big Screens: OOH Trends from Kevin Bartanian
We know that many consumers today use their small screens (i.e., phones and tablets) to organize their lives, find the things and experiences they need, communicate with friends, family, and colleagues, and watch countless hours of strangers and animals doing bizarre and sometimes comical/inspirational things. Marketers from MULO (multi-location) brands use those screens to push […]
Can Target’s Private Label Products Help Them Compete? Three Brand Experts Weigh In
Target launched its first private label brand in 1984 with the launch of the Honors clothing line. These product lines are now called “owned brands” by the MULO (multi-location) retail giant, which now has nearly 50 owned brands, some of which they have begun to sell to other retailers, making Target a wholesaler and shopping […]
Going for Retail Gold: How the Olympics Impacts MULO Retail & Food
We recently wrote about “momentjacking” and how MULO (multi-location) brands take full advantage of events — big and small — to boost sales and consumer engagement. BTW, “the bon moment” in French means “the right time.” So, why is the Summer Olympics the bon moment for MULO brands? 15 “global partners” have signed on to the Paris […]
Tinuiti Q2 Ad Report Sees Spike in AI-Powered Digital Campaigns
So how did the digital ad economy perform in Q2? Tinuiti explains it all for us in its Digital Ads Benchmark Report, released July 24, which looks at quarterly trends across Google, Meta, Amazon and other dominant platforms. First off, AI-powered digital campaigns drove spending up for the likes of Meta Advantage + and Google Performance […]
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