News and Analysis
Small Brands are Crushing Big Brands on Local Search
As we know, most consumers use their devices to find dining, retail, and other MULO (multi-location) options that are convenient to them and have the products and services they want (as well as the consumer reviews, directions, and specials they seek). However, larger brands (who can afford to invest in mobile local search optimization) often […]
The MULO Hotel is Alive and Well
Summer vacations have ended but millions of people are still traveling for both work and play. Business travel is almost back to its pre-pandemic level, with close to 500M trips taking place this year and the global business traveler market estimated to reach $2.1T by 2031. Despite the popularity surge for alternative lodgings like Airbnb and […]
UGC: A Conversation With Roee Zelcer, CEO of Humanz US
MULO (multi-location) brands and agencies have long used word-of-mouth marketing to build traffic and sales. But UGC (user-generated content) as marketing is clearly having a moment. Brands’ fans are taking to TikTok, IG, digital billboards, and streaming TV ads to promote products and places. Agencies are making bold moves to incorporate UGC in their media […]
Commentary
The Telltale Signs of Fake Reviews
Curtis Boyd is the founder of a Southern California-based company, The Transparency Co, which has gained significant attention in recent months for the technology Boyd has developed to detect fake reviews at scale. Boyd’s company has recently secured government contracts to help ferret out fake reviews online.
Latest Posts
Simon Says “Your Product is In-Stock!” The Rise of Product Search Today and How Brands Should Respond
Simon Property Group recently expanded its Simon Search technology, enabling mall-goers to determine if the brands they want are in-store, before they head out to shop and spend. Product search before visiting a multi-location (or other) business is nothing new. Google reports that 74 percent of brick-and-mortar shoppers will do some online sleuthing before they […]
How Audio Advertising Became a Blindspot for U.S. Brands
With the state of the U.S. economy still unclear, more advertisers are tightening their belts and re-evaluating their media mix. In a recent study by WARC, 96% of retail and CPG marketers said they’re evolving their advertising approach and tapping into digital audio advertising as a way to ensure a smooth path-to-purchase. According to Paul […]
Getting Your Local, Foreign ‘Phrase’ Just Right
Phrase is a global leader in enterprise localization software. The Phrase Localization Suite powers the entire localization ecosystem for global businesses, connecting, automating and managing high-quality localized content at speed and scale. The Phrase software can handle more than 500 languages, supporting 50+ file types and processing 2B+ words monthly. It has 200K global users. […]
BOOM: We All Scream for Ice Cream (and retailers reply)
The summer is upon us, and many people are seeking ways to cool down. Although the old-fashioned neighborhood ice cream truck is a rarity, multi-location (MULO) ice cream and frozen dessert retailers show no sign of melting. Although the category has declined slightly from time to time, it still represents $5.5B in revenue in the […]
Ad-Media Companies Show Increased Interest in Data Privacy
Move over, Metaverse. Take a nap, AI. Businesses in the ad-media marketing industry are taking an increasing interest in data privacy, according to the Bombora Upswell Report, which delves into the latest trends and developments across eight industries. According to the report, the interest in data privacy rose 70 percent among companies in the ad-media […]
Why Are Multi-Location Brands Ghosting Their Customers?
You may have heard of ghosting in the dating or job application world. It’s when someone communicates with you and then vanishes suddenly and without a trace. Your messages go unanswered. Here today…ghost tomorrow! Multi-location brands (MULO) are ghosting their customers and prospects. A recent study by SOCI, “The High Cost of Invisibility for Multi-Location […]
On GDPR’s 5th Anniversary, Fragmentation Remains Biggest Privacy Challenge
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Although the privacy landscape is quite different in 2023 than it was five years ago, when the European Union’s GDPR went into effect in May of 2018, the adtech industry in the U.S. remains in a state of flux, struggling to deal with fragmentation caused […]
5 Franchise Tips to Ease Friction
Franchise businesses account for a whopping 10.5% of all companies with paid employees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, they account for $1.3 trillion in sales across various industries. Franchising enables brands to grow and quickly open multiple locations. People who buy into franchises have the ability to fulfill their entrepreneurial dreams without shouldering the […]
Acoustic Gets to the ‘Why’ of the Customer Journey
Acoustic is a global SaaS subscription company that provides customer-engagement tools for B2C brands. It has worked with brands including Pura, PayPal, Scientific American, and Ticketmaster. In 2022, Acoustic helped clients manage over 120 billion personalized interactions by focusing on the customer journey. John Riewerts, SVP of Engineering at Acoustic, explains the company’s newest offering […]
Emodo COO: AI Is Where We’re Continuing to Focus
As the mobile adtech division of the telecom giant Ericsson, Emodo is placing a major emphasis on AI-driven performance and personalization in programmatic advertising this year. The company is also doubling down on innovations around optimization, especially as it relates to targeting, innovative formats, and unique inventory. At the head of all these initiatives is […]
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