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
Niantic Accelerates the Real-World Metaverse
One of the companies at the center of the shift to the metaverse is Niantic. Mostly associated with its breakout hit, Pokémon Go, it has evolved its business to be more of a developer platform for geo-local AR experiences. Known as Lightship, the platform is expressly built to enable the real-world metaverse.
The Customer Journey Isn’t Linear Anymore: How Marketers Can Adapt
Brands that previously were able to define a customer journey and maybe even map it out in a linear fashion face a new reality. They no longer possess the means to dictate how a consumer interacts with them. Here are three tips on how marketers can adapt their strategies for the new customer journey.
Latest Posts
GroundTruth CMO: ‘Most Brand Marketers Struggle with Marketing Vanity Metrics’
The role of a marketer changed drastically in 2023. Rather than being centered on brand, advertising, and digital marketing, brand marketers today are focusing more heavily on strategic areas, like marketing analytics, revenue growth, innovation, and market entry strategy. Surveys show that while firms are slowing their investments in customer relationship management systems, brand building, […]
Hair Care Today…$41B Tomorrow: The Growth of a Category
Hair care is a rapidly-growing category for multi-location brands. As part of our future-forward series, we’ll cover categories that are on the upswing in the MULO (multi-location) ecosystem, along with trends that will impact individual brands’ survival and growth. Intellectual capital has value, but what’s ON our heads can be as lucrative as what’s in […]
Social Marketing Gets Redefined in the Era of AI
In an era where everyone is trying to get more done in less time, generative AI has become a valuable tool for social marketing professionals. According to a new survey from Sprout Social, conducted by the digital insights firm Cint, 71% of social media marketers have already started using AI and machine learning tools, and […]
The Taco War Rages On
Publicity stunt or legal battle? Or, perhaps, a little of both. In case you’ve been too busy over the past week to track the battle antics. Here’s a brief summary. Taco John’s trademarked the term “Taco Tuesday” back in 1989. Taco Bell is now taking legal action to invalidate the trademark so all taco-selling brands […]
Billionaire Steve Kuhn Finds New Use for Empty Retail Spaces
What’s that new use? You guessed it…pickleball! But financier and Major League Pickleball founder Steve Kuhn called his new multi-location brand Picklemall. Taking full advantage of large empty spaces in shopping malls, the company will launch its first indoor pickleball concept in Arizona Mills in Tempe in July 2023. It expects to open 50 locations […]
Amperity Getting Ahead of Cookieless Targeting
Google’s plan to eradicate the third-party cookie is still on track for 2024, but it is starting slowly, turning off just 1% of these tracking pieces of code in Chrome in Q1. Other companies are already taking similar steps to wean their measurement systems to prepare for cookieless targeting, and Amperity is no exception. The […]
5 Brands Using QR Codes to Drive Traffic to Online Platforms
The predictions were correct. QR codes are back — in a big way. After debuting in the 1990s, then losing relevance in the early 2000s, QR codes came roaring back to life in 2020. Now, three years after QR codes re-entered the mainstream during the Covid-19 pandemic, some of the biggest brands in the world […]
Seedtag Launches Next-Gen AI Solution
Global contextual ad company Seedtag has launched a next-gen AI powered context platform that gives brands and agencies the ability to create tailored creative ads that fit the context of the page on which they are featured. Dubbed “Liz,” the platform uses deep learning, computer vision, and natural language processing to create insight-driven prompts from […]
The Power of DOOH in an Omnichannel Media Strategy
To the layperson, out-of-home advertising means nothing but billboards that litter the landscape and ads on taxi tops or elsewhere that their eyes randomly scan. Even some sectors of the marketing industry do not give much thought to DOOH advertising or digital-out-of-home advertising. But these media channels are much more strategic and powerful than many […]
Why One Version of the Truth Is Vital to a Retailer’s Success
When walking into a Walmart, customers know exactly what to expect, as the brand provides a consistent experience from merchandise to employee interactions, no matter the location. With over 10,500 stores, Walmart employs 2.1 million associates. From a managerial standpoint, that number can seem daunting. Providing a consistent experience across all store locations can be […]
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