News and Analysis
WiRL-ing with Satyne Julianna Doner
Although technology is booming, human connections remain extremely valuable in the MULO (multi-location) restaurant world. A whopping 77% of restaurant operators say that talent acquisition and retention are significant challenges. Associate Editor Satyne Julianna Doner recently gathered a group of executive women in the MULO (multi-location) restaurant industry to discuss their career paths and how to foster […]
Hatch Urges People to ‘Escape the Algorithm’
A Boston-based agency known as Hatch has come up with a tagline for a local museum’s campaign that may well be a healthy approach to life itself: “Escape the algorithm.” For the purposes of this local outdoor campaign, which began its run in the greater Boston area in 2024, the work is in support of […]
How AI May Win Prime Days in 2025
When Amazon launched its Prime Days concept, it was a true novelty. After all, who doesn’t want deals, especially those that come up unexpectedly? This year, Amazon has expanded Prime Days to four full days (July 8th to 11th) and has already begun spending on pre-promotion awareness ads. Amazon spends approximately $20B on advertising annually, […]
Commentary
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. […]
As Cookies Crumble, Lotame Launches Solution to Help Digital Marketers
In the fast-paced world of digital marketing, the ability to harness and utilize data effectively is becoming even more important. Lotame has taken a significant step forward in enabling data collaboration with the launch of Lotame Collaborate and Lotame Onboarding. These innovative solutions, available through their data collaboration platform, Spherical, promise to change how digital […]
Subscription Fatigue: How Streaming Services Can Keep Customers Happy
Streaming is big business, and looks to only keep expanding in 2024 and beyond – with more players, more dollars to win, more subscribers, and a proliferation of new ad tiers. Eighty-three percent of Americans have at least one streaming service subscription and the average American subscribes to four services. For streaming platforms at first […]
Latest Posts
Streets Ahead: Google Monopoly Ruling, AIO Declines
In this week’s Streets Ahead update, SOCi looks at what’s next after the Google monopoly ruling as well as the continued decline in Google AI Overviews (AIO). Google Monopoly Ruling: What’s Next After the DOJ’s Landmark Decision? The News Last week, we reported on a significant development in the lawsuit filed against Google by the […]
Christena Garduno of Media Culture: The Marketing Agency’s Future
Marketing agencies used to be able to woo clients with unique and emotional ad campaigns. Then, as media options became more varied, knowing how and where to spend ad dollars (print, television, radio, and ultimately online) was a critical factor. Today, agencies must deliver a full range of strategies and solutions, and data analytics and […]
Nexxen Partners with Vevo to Expand Programmatic Advertising in CTV
Nexxen, a leader in unified advertising technology with deep expertise in video and Connected TV (CTV), has announced a strategic partnership with Vevo, the world’s largest music video network. This collaboration marks a significant milestone for both companies, as Vevo joins forces with Nexxen’s supply-side platform (SSP) to enhance its programmatic advertising capabilities, particularly across […]
Back-to-School Shopping Patterns 2024
Most holidays seem to have moved up in the calendar as opportunities for retailers and manufacturers to get a jump on back-to-school sales activities. In some warmer states, school starts in August. Parents sending their kids off to college need ample prep time to stock dorm rooms (and the closets and refrigerators within them). Amazon […]
SOCi, Dominating the CoMarketing Cloud Revolution
SOCi, Inc., the CoMarketing Cloud tailored for multi-location enterprises, has reached a significant milestone: $100 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR). This achievement places SOCi among the exclusive ranks of global centaur companies, a status that is seven times rarer than the coveted unicorn status. Unlike unicorns, which are often valued based on speculative projections, […]
What’s Old was New at This Year’s Upfronts
This year’s Upfronts mirrored the changes taking place in the industry as there was a greater focus on streamers, with Netflix, Amazon and YouTube dominating headlines and generating more buzz than their broadcast and cable counterparts. Despite the industry’s desire to embrace new technologies and fully enter the streaming era, progress from years past appears […]
Streets Ahead: Google DOJ Ruling and Google’s Search Dominance
In this week’s Streets Ahead update from SOCi, we learn about the Google DOJ ruling and AI’s effect on Google’s search dominance Google Ruled a Monopoly in DOJ Case In a 2020 lawsuit, the Department of Justice and several state attorneys general accused Google of maintaining a monopoly, leading to a ruling by federal judge […]
Hallmark Launches its Own Media Channel
In the MULO (multi-location) retail world, Hallmark is one brand that has consistently been able to flex and scale — beyond the brick-and-mortar card store. Now, Hallmark is “joining the streaming fray.” The new media channel will (of course) be called Hallmark+, and it will make its debut in September. Hallmark has been way ahead of […]
Who Owns What in the MULO World?
Darden recently made a huge acquisition in the MULO (multi-location) food world, gobbling up Chuy’s fast-casual Mexican locations (100+) in a $605M deal. According to FSR Magazine, the holding company has also made some major acquisitions over the last decade. “Chuy’s marks Darden’s sixth acquisition in 15 years. In 2007, the company acquired RARE Hospitality […]
The Cookie Crumbled: Deprecation is Out, First-Party Data is (Still) In
While Google backed of its cookie deprecation plans, now is not the time for brands to become complacent. Smart marketers continue to prioritize third-party cookie alternatives to effectively and efficiently reach their audiences—and future-proof their targeting strategies, which are still likely to be impacted by privacy changes and signal loss. Google users will soon have […]
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