News and Analysis
Netflix Takes on YouTube. Should Podcasters and Advertisers Rejoice?
If we’re “Netflix and Chillin,’” consuming movies, streaming series, and other entertaining and inspiring content, why don’t we listen, watch and learn from podcast content creators too? Now we can. Netflix is entering the podcast market, leveraging its massive database of more than 300M subscribers (and growing). Podcasts also show no sign of slowing down […]
Church’s Wants to Make Your Day
A new female buddy comedy is playing in theaters, and Church’s Texas Chicken not only has a cameo role, but a marketing tie-in. “One of Them Days” stars SZA, who had her own star turn in Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl half-time show earlier this month, and Keke Palmer (“Akeelah and the Bee)” playing roommates who […]
5 Reasons the Media Ignores (or Trashes) Your Brand
As someone who has sat on “both sides of the desk” (as a marketer and now a research analyst, trend spotter, and content creator), I have a unique perspective on media exposure. The right press — online, conventional, or some combination — feeds your public image when consumers search for your brand. What MULO (multi-location) […]
Commentary
The Next Big Change for Brands: Digital Trust
Data privacy and consumer trust are key priorities for multi-location brands, users, and the U.S. government. On January 1, the California Privacy Rights Act was put into effect, a solid sign that federal privacy laws may be in the near future in the U.S. In fact, a recent McKinsey report explored the topic of “Digital […]
How Multi-Location Brands Can Improve Customer Experience
According to recent reports, 43.5% of brands agreed that positive CX is a critical differentiator when it comes to getting an edge on the competition. Creating positive customer experiences seems like a no-brainer, but in reality bridging the CX perception gap between customer service, marketing, and sales teams and potentially 10s or 100s of store […]
Contextual and Native Come Together to Help Advertisers Win the Open Web
Both contextual and native take a natural and intuitive approach, rather than a disruptive and distracting one. If a seamless experience is the goal, context may even be a more appropriate mode for targeting native campaigns than third-party cookie targeting ever was.
Latest Posts
What Google At Peak Search Means for Marketers
For Q3 2023 earnings, Google reported a shortfall on cloud revenue and that their US core advertising / search business over delivered to make up part of the difference. So how has Google become this dependent on non-advertising revenue streams to achieve future growth targets and how much longer can they go back to the […]
Keep an Eye on C-Stores (Both on and Off the Road!)
As we’ve previously covered, the traditional C-stores (convenience store) used to be that corner deli where you could pick up snacks, soft drinks, or smokes or the stop along the highway where you gassed up, took a hygiene break and grabbed something sugary to tide you over on the road. Consumers are starting to head […]
BrightLocal Report : How Consumers Find Local Businesses
When business owners and marketers need to ensure their business information is correct and consistent for thousands of locations, they might do well to first consult the BrightLocal Local Business Discovery and Trust Report 2023 for guidance. To Sammy Paget, Content Marketing Manager at BrightLocal, trust is at the heart of a high level of […]
Measuring the Return on SEO: ROSS and the Future of Organic Search
There’s an irony at the heart of organic search. For users, searching is one of the most natural, rapid, and reliable digital experiences one can have. You ask questions and expect the best answers in return—instantly. For users, a search could not be simpler. For brands, however, it’s been a little more complicated. Historically, it’s […]
Samba TV : Voters Becoming Harder to Reach with Political Advertising
A recently released report from Samba TV and global research firm HarrisX predicts that voting blocks in the Gen Z and Millennials cohorts will be very hard to reach with political advertising next year. The Guide to Political Advertising: 2024 Report, the culmination of an analysis from a survey and proprietary data from Samba TV, […]
Steak & Ale Makes a Brand Comeback
We’ve written before about “nostalgia” brands and those franchise businesses that have survived 50+ years. Steak & Ale would seem to fit right in there. Steakhouses are alive and well despite the surge in plant-based dining! So we weren’t totally shocked that Steak & Ale, a business created in 1966, is priming (pun intended) for […]
Unlocking Marketing Success: The Power of ID Resolution
In the ever-evolving digital landscape, the customer journey takes center stage as brands strive to craft compelling marketing and advertising campaigns. However, the abundance of customer data, often scattered across various identifiers like web browsers, mobile apps, and in-store interactions, poses a significant challenge Without the right tools and systems in place, this data fragmentation […]
BOOM: Lessons from Build-A-Bear
Stuffed bears have been around since 1903 and became a multi-million dollar business. Despite the popularity of electronic gadgets, VR, AR, and AI, the simple toy lives on! In fact, according to a recent Retail Dive article, Build-A-Bear is on the upswing and has major deals with big brands like Marvel, the NFL, Disney, and […]
Claravine Aims to Revolutionize Marketing Data Management
Claravine recently unveiled Claravine AI, a suite of solutions designed to redefine how marketing teams approach data management. This new offering, fueled by proprietary technology, promises to empower marketing teams with unprecedented control and insight into marketing taxonomy and metadata. By fostering collaboration across the content supply chain and automating the classification of creative assets, […]
Mark Michael Speaks About Today’s Franchise and Tech
DevHub CEO and Founder Mark Michael describes his company as the “torso” of the franchise brand ecosystem. DevHub specializes in building front-end websites that power the entire franchisor-to-franchisee-to-consumer experience. Their technology has more than 75 integrations with other commonly used platforms, and he often speaks about the power of human relationships in solving problems and […]



















































Why AI Describes Locations Differently