News and Analysis
The Robot is Carrying Your Pizza: Timothy Tanksley Predicts the Future of MULO Serving
One of the biggest challenges bars and restaurants face today is finding skilled labor. Add to that the cost of overserving expensive cocktail ingredients (both in terms of product expense and product quality). Timothy Tanksley is the Director of Marketing at Richtech Robotics. At the Bar & Restaurant Expo, one of the company’s robots served us a […]
Scott Sutton Advises Advertisers on How to Avoid “Mis-Targeting”
Mis-targeting can not only waste ad dollars but can also damage brands reputations. Consumers like personalization provided the information being used is relevant to them. A new report shows that digital ads fail to meet their target promises. One study reported that “when brands run digital ads aimed at parents…67% don’t even have children” and […]
Report: Consumers Have Mixed Feelings on Spending
When it comes to spring spending in 2025, consumers plan to keep the home fires burning, as the British sang during World War I. In 21st century America, however, nothing spells patriotism like consumerism. Although consumer confidence has been taking a dive this year, falling to a 12-year low in March. With inflation persistent and […]
Commentary
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 […]
BOOM: Upcycled / Pre-Worn Clothes and the MULO Brands That Sell Them
Buying pre-worn clothes is nothing new. But it’s now in style for a variety of reasons. After all, places like Goodwill have been around since 1902 and have more than 4,000 locations. In the 1960s and 70s, hippies and their wannabe equivalents flocked to army-navy and other surplus stores to buy jackets, overalls, and other […]
Latest Posts
Birdeye Social : Insights into Social Media Management
The significance of a robust social media presence cannot be overstated, particularly for multi-location brands aiming to connect with local audiences. Acknowledging the complexities of managing social media across diverse locations, Birdeye, a leading reputation and customer experience platform for local businesses, has just introduced Birdeye Social. With this move, the company is aiming to […]
BUST: Multi-Location Movie Theater Chains Struggle
With Oscar season around the corner, let’s examine the silver screen (or lack thereof). A 100-year-old movie theater MULO (multi-location) operation just declared bankruptcy. Founded in the day of silent films, Metropolitan Theaters has 16 theaters and 87 screens, including two IMAX auditoriums in California, Colorado, and Utah. The pandemic and the rise of the […]
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 […]
BOOM: Industrious Brings Hospitality to Work
This year, about 5M people will use co-working spaces as their offices and meeting places. The concept of shared space has expanded to include podcasting and warehousing/shipping. The concept of co-working is about 30 years old and it is now a cornerstone of the “sharing economy.” As the media was filled with stories of WeWork’s […]
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 […]
A MULO Brand Scales With a Shark
CEO and Founder of Crispý Cones Jeremy Carlson is on his way to a total of 300 stores across the country. Shark Tank Barbara Corcoran gave him $200K for a 20% interest in his company, which he runs with his wife Kaitlyn. Their back story is a true inspiration to other MULO (multi-location) brands that […]
Navigating the Evolution of Digital Advertising: Merging Innovation with Privacy
Digital advertising is undergoing a seismic shift. Traditional methods no longer capture consumer attention or drive brand impact like they used to. This decline is exacerbated by the increased focus on privacy across platforms and publishers. However, one of the promising byproducts of this change is the emergence of new tools and channels that big […]
The MULO Dozen: February Brands in Review
It’s that time again! Every month, we report on new developments in the MULO (multi-location) space. We cover brands, trends, and the agencies and technologies that serve the MULO (or aspiring MULO) business. Love and the Super Bowl were in the air in February. And we saw our usual range of management and product changes. Have news? […]
Eagle Eye’s AI Product Can Scale, Personalize Promotions at Retail
When Eagle Eye introduced its data-centric solution powered by AI earlier this year, its intended business targets were grocery and retail verticals. The offering uses retailers’ existing customer data to generate personalized promotions for consumers at scale. In this way mass promotions can be segmented and curated specifically for individuals, said Cédric Chéreau, Untie Nots Co-Founder […]
Just For You: MULO Brands Built Around Personalization
The Bear Cave is a grown-up version of the kids’ multi-location (MULO) brand Build-a-Bear. Personalization or the concept of making something unique as a gift or for yourself is nothing new. Most people like to think of themselves as unique beings with specialized tastes. Mainstream brands like Chipotle, Starbucks, and salad and ice cream franchises […]
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