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
Celebrities Who Help Turn Multi-Location Food Brands Into Stars
Celebrities, including actors and athletes, have long invested in businesses that will help guarantee them a nest egg after their fame has waned. Many now even have their own investment firms. Some, like Mark Wahlberg and Michael Jordan, developed branded concepts, while others invested in multi-location brand franchises. Among the multi-location food brands with celebrity investors […]
The C-Store of the Future: Beyond Gas & Gum
Although the industry has consolidated in recent years, close to 150K convenience stores (C-store) exist in the U.S. We may take them for granted, but they are a staple of modern life. The C-store is a solution whether we need pain relief, diapers at 2 AM, or a much-needed rest stop and re-fuel (physically or […]
Rootstrap Co-Founder on AI Regulation
First of all, Anthony Figueroa wants everyone to know he is a big believer in the power and potential of AI. As co-founder and CTO of outcome-driven software development company Rootstrap, he is both amazed and afraid of AI’s potential based on what he has seen so far. “I think the biggest danger is that […]
Latest Posts
AxleHire CEO Goes Deep into Delivery Experience
If you think the retail industry is overwhelmed at this time of the year, when the holidays take center stage, try working in the shipping industry. Raj Ramanan is CEO of AxleHire, a last-mile shipping service for e-commerce retailers, touts its “Amazon-like” service experience of next-day and same-day delivery as desired. And satisfaction goes right […]
What Content Marketers Can Expect in 2024
Productsup is a P2C (product-to-consumer) platform that processes the flow of content about more than two trillion items a month across upwards of 2,500 marketing and retail channels for enterprise customers around the world, including IKEA, ALDI, and Sephora. Its goal is to help companies overcome commerce complexity to deliver consistent product information and a […]
How Retailers are Keeping the Grinch from Stealing This Holiday Season
Sadly, it’s not just the Grinch ruining the holidays for many retailers. It’s thievery. Last year, about $112B was lost to various types of retail crime, including shoplifting, flash mobs, and organized crime. Technologies, including AI-based video at point-of-sale, Â sensory heat maps, cash automation technology, and autonomous security robots, are helping retailers prevent, spot, and […]
What’s Entertainment? Agency VP Nick Dan-Bergman Reveals New Research
LaneTerralever, a full-service marketing and digital experience agency that works with a wide range of attractions and entertainment destinations (as well as the gaming industry), just completed a research report that provides insights into what today’s consumer is looking for in location-based entertainment and experiences. We don’t typically think of attractions (like amusement parks or […]
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 […]
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