News and Analysis
Marketing Storytelling: 4 Success Tips from Props
Especially as automation changes the MULO (multi-location) marketing landscape and brands use AI to target and “talk” to their consumers and prospects, the value of human-to-human connection or storytelling becomes more important. How do MULO retail, restaurant, and service brands build real loyalty among the people who spend (or could spend) with them? Joseph Perello, […]
Who’s Minding the Store? Who’s Watching the Kids?
This election season, the issue of childcare is a significant topic of conversation. MULO (multi-location) brands are already challenged by labor shortages, rising minimum wages, and ongoing retention challenges. Add to that scheduling and expense challenges that arise from childcare duties and those challenges get even more complex. Childcare costs in the U.S. are staggeringly […]
Automotive Advertisers Set Sights on CTV
Fresh from releasing its H2 2024 H2 Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Market Report, Mediaocean, an omnichannel ad platform, is out with its H2 2024 Automotive report. While linear TV remains a much cited choice for ad spend because of its ability to raise and spread product awareness, CTV has come on as the new darling channel […]
Commentary
The Creator Economy Accelerates
Adobe’s annual Max event is happening this week in LA, its first physical rendition since Covid lockdowns sidelined the event world. Max is all about the creator economy, the emerging crop of individuals and SMBs that create content. This has been Adobe’s target market for two decades. This all manifests in the ever-growing Creative Cloud… […]
Latest Posts
BUST: Multi-Location (MULO) Restaurants & Retailers Declaring Bankruptcy in 2023
Although we all watched in dismay (and perhaps fear) as Bed Bath & Beyond and Jenny Craig took nosedives this year, reports of other brands facing the multi-location (MULO) “apocalypse” may contain more than a little hype. Here are some facts: More than 2,100 retail locations are expected to close in 2023, but Bed Bath […]
These 5 Retailers Are Investing In Virtual Try-On Tech
Virtual try-on is becoming a key differentiator for e-commerce brands, and an opportunity for traditional retailers to bring the in-store try-on experience into the comfort of their customers’ homes. When Parfums Christian Dior launched its virtual try-on solution at Viva Tech 2023 earlier this month, the company joined a growing list of luxury brands leveraging […]
In-House vs. Outsourced Marketing: Pros & Cons for Multi-Location Businesses
When it comes to marketing for multi-location businesses, a constant debate is whether or not to outsource your marketing or run it in-house. Since both come with a cost, deciding which marketing route is best can’t be determined by a simple coin toss or guessing game. You want to know for sure that you’re maximizing […]
The Oldest Franchises in the U.S. That Are Still Going Strong
Keeping a business alive and thriving for 50+ years is no small feat. Many of us get calls and LinkedIn messages asking, “Have you considered investing in franchises ?” It may be a valid question because the franchise industry is growing at a rate of 4.2% and is expected to hit a whopping $460B in […]
Vistar Verify: DOOH Needs Quality Inventory Standards
Vistar Media wants to help establish quality inventory standards for the DOOH market. To that end, it has launched Vistar Verify. The program creates a shared definition of quality inventory in the Vistar marketplace using manual and automated checks. The objective is to ensure inventory is represented accurately and meets a collective set of standards […]
Study: ‘Ghosting’ Customers Leads to $2.4 Billion Loss in Retail Sales
Even if you haven’t heard the term “ghosting” before, you’ve almost certainly experienced it. Ghosting, or ending a relationship by suddenly withdrawing from all communication, is the exact opposite of what brand marketers are going for when they work to cultivate and deepen their relationships with customers. And yet, according to a new study, by […]
Meet the Robotproof Leader: An Interview with Matt Robison About Boosting Product Sales
Matt Robison is the Founder & CEO of a marketing agency called Robotproof. The company is aptly named because he has a unique perspective on how to boost product sales by entertaining and engaging humans — and training the people who sell to them — at multi-location retailers. Robotproof’s primary focus is experiential marketing — […]
How Retailers Are Getting More Mileage from Curbside Pickups
With the pandemic firmly in the rearview mirror, consumers have returned to stores en masse. Surveys show that shopping behaviors in 2023 are not all that different from 2019 — with a few big exceptions. Online shopping continues to be more popular today than it was before the pandemic, and BOPIS—buy online, pickup in-store—has also […]
Why TV Remains the Heartbeat of Local Connection