News and Analysis
Just Salad Tosses in AI & Personalization
We know that consumers are okay with personalization and targeting, providing it adds value to their lives and saves them time. A whopping 64 percent of consumers report liking custom-tailored experiences. Just Salad was founded in 2006 and now has more than 90 locations. I remember being excited when the fast-casual chain opened in New […]
More Than a Comfy Bed: What Makes a Great MULO Hotel Brand?
We may not think of a hotel or a motel in the same light as retailers and restaurants. However, they are still MULO (multi-location) brands. Consumers search for them, consider their ratings, and make selections based on a wide range of factors. NerdWallet just published its list of “best hotel brands” for 2025. The criteria […]
Move Along, TikTok; Gen Z Is Growing Up
With the fate of TikTok in the U.S. changing almost daily, Gen Z is moving on. As generational demographic groups age, their relationship to the Web changes. This generation, those born between 1997 and 2012, has reached the stage of wanting deep learning and reliable information that is less about entertainment and more about life […]
Commentary
The Branding Implications of SEO: Why Franchise Brands are Embracing CMS
In the dynamic world of brand marketing, the digital experience is paramount. Historically, the speed of a website’s load time was not just a technical metric, but a reflection of franchise brands promises to consumers. Today, with the advent of Core Web Vitals (CWV), the narrative has evolved. It’s no longer just about speed; it’s […]
BOOM: Barry’s Bulks-up its MULO Brand
The boutique fitness industry is having a moment. And Barry’s (formerly Barry’s Boot Camp) is making moves to grow along with it. With plans to quadruple its 48-location footprint by 2030, Barry’s offers a “unique blend of high-intensity (HIIT) cardio, strength training, music, and signature red lights,” according to a profile of the company CEO […]
Mastering the Retail Supply Chain to Drive Intelligent Outcomes
Retail has been ramping up digital transformation for a few years now, in an attempt to keep pace with consumer expectations for frictionless, more personalized, omnichannel experiences. This transformation has been further accelerated by current external factors like the pandemic, global conflict and economic headwinds. As part of this effort, reimagining supply chain practices has […]
Latest Posts
The Evolving Dayparts
Dayparts no longer apply to when your favorite TV shows are on. In fact, streaming and recording have made that concept outdated. However, dayparts are alive and well when MULO (multi-location) brands try to understand consumer behaviors better. Knowing when people shop and eat can help brands staff, add (or reduce) inventory, and even post […]
Starbucks Stirs Up Leadership Model
Starbucks, a company known for transformation the coffee shop model and introducing a wide range of seasonal beverages and products is now transforming the MULO (multi-location) leadership model. The company announced this week that it is creating a new leadership model. As innovative and unique as its current lavender beverages, the structure is designed to […]
3 Ways to Battle Efficiency Headwinds in 2024
You don’t have to look too deep for significance there: measurement is tough right now (even for measurement companies), and fraud is rampant and stands to get worse as AI governance lags behind AI adoption. No matter how big your brand or what industry you’re in, efficiency is going to be a challenge in 2024. […]
Stepping Up Brand Protection with AI-Powered Risk Monitoring
Maintaining a positive online reputation is extremely important for businesses in our digital world, especially for multi-location brands. With the rise of social media and online review platforms, negative commentary and potential crises can spread rapidly, posing significant threats to a company’s reputation and profitability. In an attempt to help MULO marketers address this challenge, […]
A Marketer’s Guide to Transitioning from Third-Party Cookies
Third-party cookies are going away. Not tomorrow, maybe not next week, but in the months to come, marketers will come face-to-face with the reality of a new world of marketing measurement. Google appears to be committed to their complete blocking of third-party cookies in Chrome by the end of 2024, so marketers need to prepare […]
Why Some MULO Brands are Going Online-Only
This week, Outdoor Voices announced that the company is closing stores and migrating its business to online only. Will they re-brand “Indoor Voices?” Joking aside, the move appears essential for the popular athleisure brand to remain alive. They are hardly the first brand to go from MULO (multi-location) outposts to just the screen. Athleisure is […]
BUST: Jo-Ann Fabric and Crafts Needs to be Re-Stitched
We recently covered the challenges of the MULO (multi-location) crafts industry and speculated on whether the giant stores that sell sewing, knitting, scrapbooking, and other creative supplies and classes would survive. The question is still unanswered, despite the fact that 81-year-old Ohio-based Jo-Ann Fabric and Crafts (JOANN) just filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. All of […]
OOH Will See Record Political Ad Spending in 2024
Alright, we survived Super Tuesday and its political ads, but the OOH ad-media beatings won’t stop until the election is finally over. And even then, we can’t be sure. From now until November, U.S. voters must endure messages around choosing a president, 33 senate races, representatives for all 435 seats of the House, and 14 gubernatorial […]
Embracing AI in Media and Advertising
History changes slowly and then overnight. A mere two years ago, the early publicly-available generative AI models from OpenAI, Microsoft, Google looked like curiosities–intriguing but plagued by obvious limitations. Today these models have advanced so far and so fast that they are already well on their way to changing media and advertising forever. AI is […]
Voices Amplified: How Consumers Are Rewriting the Rules for Brand Accountability
Today, consumer voices can be magnified across channels with the click of a button. The power of the consumer is undergoing a seismic shift, providing both opportunities and challenges to businesses around the world as they rewrite the “rules” of brand accountability. Traditional online review sites are no longer the only medium to share opinions. […]
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