News and Analysis
Halloween 2025 Begins and Results are Not Scary
“Summerween” is a term explored by Retail Next. You’ve probably noticed that Halloween pumpkins rapidly replaced flip-flops as early as July. It’s no wonder. The holiday results in as much as $12B in annual spending, and retailers are looking to get their share of the sales treat bag. A recent study (reported in that RetailNext […]
StreetFight LIVE’25: 12 Trends & Disruptive Ideas To Watch
Street Fight LIVE 2025 attracted the best and the brightest thought leaders from across the MULO (multi-location) ecosystem. We deliberately curated and invited a select, diverse group of dynamic senior executives from retail, restaurant, service, agency, and technology businesses to share their perspectives on the future trends and disruptive ideas for MULO brands in an […]
Survey: Voters Feel ‘Worse Off’ Compared to Early 2025
President Donald Trump has a personality problem, according to the latest Voters Trend Report from Resonate, a technology company combines big data and psychographic survey studies to develop an understanding of consumer motivations. Survey responses found that half of respondents expressed dissatisfaction with his personal behavior. Only 13% are satisfied, leaving more than a third […]
Commentary
Beyond Likes: Win Hearts with Emotional Marketing
I’ve been in the marketing game for a while, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that data is king. We track clicks, opens, conversions, and a million other metrics. But what if the most important metric isn’t something you can easily count? What if the result of emotional marketing is a feeling? We’re […]
Why TV Remains the Heartbeat of Local Connection
In today’s increasingly digital world, fostering a sense of community can be challenging. Yet it’s not impossible. New research from Tenetic and CivicScience reveals that TV is the best medium at making people feel connected to their local communities–twice as effective as streaming content, twice as effective as digital video, and nearly three times better […]
Streets Ahead: Google Chat, and Instagram Reels
In this week’s Streets Ahead update, SOCi discusses Google enabling direct business chat in Maps & Search and Instagram unveiling retention insights for Reels Google Brings Chat to Maps The News Google has rolled out its Chat feature within Google Maps, giving users a direct way to message businesses via text or WhatsApp. Customers can […]
Latest Posts
The Skinny on FAT Brands with Elaine Patel
We all know that the relationship between a corporate MULO (multi-location) brand and its local operators can sometimes be challenging. How do you keep the integrity of your brand whole while supporting the entrepreneurial people who run your day-to-day and regional operations? Elaine Patel is one woman who has many of those answers. Elaine Patel […]
Flamel.ai Expands Suite of AI Tools to Power Franchise Growth
Flamel.ai announced a new suite of product capabilities that bring advanced content creation, cross-platform scheduling, and localized advertising to every customer touchpoint. The updates extend Flamel.ai’s mission to help franchisors scale marketing while maintaining local authenticity and brand consistency. The September product release includes: Social Ad Playbooks — automated Meta campaign templates that franchisors can […]
Meet Leeza Hoyt, the Accidental Entrepreneur Who Built an Award-Winning Business
Public relations (especially reputation and crisis management, social sentiment, and investor relations) is rapidly changing and plays an even more critical role in the media mix than ever before. One disruntled team member or company scandal can spread bad news (true or false) like wildfire and damage a MULO (multi-location) brand. On the other hand, positive […]
“Search Fractured” and Healed by Corey Quinn
Join us in LA on September 30th at Street Fight LIVE 2025 and learn what you need to know about branding, search, and (most importantly), growth and ROI in 2026 and beyond for the MULO (multi-location) ecosystem. The consumer decision-making process is radically different from what it was even last year, and thought leaders like […]
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 […]
Food, Franchises, and Frank Talk with Dan Bejmuk
Dan Bejmuk is among the 30+ thought leaders who will be joining us on stage at Street Fight LIVE 2025. His professional (and personal) passions include MULO (multi-location) food brands. We sat down with him to learn a little more about the path that led to his current role at Dreambox (an agency). What brought […]
Beyond Likes: Win Hearts with Emotional Marketing
I’ve been in the marketing game for a while, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that data is king. We track clicks, opens, conversions, and a million other metrics. But what if the most important metric isn’t something you can easily count? What if the result of emotional marketing is a feeling? We’re […]
Rocking “The Experience” and Outer Space With Erick Weiss
We have more than 30 exceptional speakers lined up to give you a day of inspiration, insights, and some surprises at Street Fight LIVE 2025. In advance, please get to know some of those outstanding thought leaders. One of our sessions will focus on the experience and how MULO (multi-location) businesses within all industries are […]
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