News and Analysis
The Risks and Outsize Rewards of Political Branding
In a time of unprecedented political partisanship, the risks and rewards of corporate political messaging are amplified. Viral marketing strategies including Nike’s partnership with racial justice activist and football star Colin Kaepernick, Gillette’s toxic masculinity ad, and Chick-fil-A’s anti-LGBTQ stances rally political sympathizers to a brand’s side and alienate ideological foes.
Street Fight checked in with Jen Capstraw, director of strategic insights and evangelism at growth marketing company Iterable, to get a sense of how significant the benefits and drawbacks of political branding are, which ideological direction political ads are predominantly taking, and how strong the evidence is for the efficacy of partisan messaging.
Valuing Diversity, Gen Z Searches for Tailor-Made Holiday Experiences
Gen Z shoppers, in particular, have more friends with different races, gender identities, and sexualities than previous generations. They are more likely to be influenced by social media stars, who come from a wide variety of backgrounds, than traditional Hollywood celebrities. As a result, members of this generation value diversity more than other generations, and that value influences their purchasing decisions year-around.
“If you look at baby boomers from this lens, they’re far more homogenous. Millennials and Gen Z are the antithesis [of] homogeneity,” Hebets says. “Brands need to understand that millennials and Gen Z don’t want to be put in the traditional box with respect to marketing or otherwise. They want brands to embrace and recognize their diversity.”
Retailers Wooing Holiday Shoppers Try AI On for Size
What if e-commerce retailers could use technology to replicate the role of the in-store sales associate, providing people at home with the type of personal attention that really drives sales?
Technology vendors are working feverishly to make that a reality. Using artificial intelligence and voice assistants, like Amazon’s Alexa, Google Home, and Siri, online retailers are beginning to imagine a world where shoppers can ask their voice companions for recommendations on product fit or gift suggestions in specific price ranges. There may even be a time, not too far in the future, when shoppers can get personal feedback during try-ons inside their own closets, thanks to “smart” mirrors and other virtual reality technology.
Commentary
Why Location Visit Data Is Going to Be Huge for Brands
If you are not already thinking about how visits data fits into your location strategy, or you’ve yet to bring the people in-house to support that strategy (think: data scientists), now is the time. this is going to be the biggest, most critical shift in the young history of location data markets.
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Gimbal Launches Proximity Data Platform for Mobile App Publishers
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6 Ways That Local Merchants Are Using Pokémon Go to Drive Business
With interest in the augmented reality game reaching a fever pitch this week, savvy local merchants and national retailers are using social media and targeted rewards to lure in Pokémon Go players and turn them into paying customers. Here are six examples of ways that merchants are doing that right now.
Foursquare President: ‘Huge’ Industry Developing Around Location Intelligence
As the company maps consumers’ digital actions to where they are and what they do in the real-world, it is looking to become the “Nielsen of the real-world.” Street Fight recently spoke with Foursquare president Steven Rosenblatt about the explosion of location data, and why there is a big opportunity in connecting the dots between ads and store visits.
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