News and Analysis
Should MULO Brands Jump Into the U.S. Political Battleground?
As we know, brands are known for newsjacking and momentjacking. But what happens when that moment is a hotly-contested U.S. election? Today’s political climate has implications for brands and MULO (multi-location) retailers, and restaurants. Seemingly Safe Encouraging consumers to vote, regardless of their political leanings, appears to be OK, provided it is well done. In […]
Survey: CTV Is the Channel to Watch for Advertising Dollars
The shift of advertising budgets from linear TV to CTV reflects the most significant consumer behavior this year, according to a report by Mediaocean, released on August 19. The omnichannel ad-media platform just released its 2024 H2 Market Report that looks at emerging consumer, media, and media-technology trends for the rest of the year, the […]
Commentary
Location-Based Marketing Association: Instagram Experiments with QR Codes
In this episode of Location Weekly, the Location-Based Marketing Association covers Doritos letting you turn any triangle into chips on Snapchat, Sonic Boom Records launching a vinyl record vending machine in Toronto, Instagram letting you share reels, posts, and your location through QR codes, and Ecom Express partnering with What3Words for last-mile delivery in India.
Latest Posts
Boom & Bust: Learnings from Multi-location Brands
What do Brooks Brothers, White Castle, and 7-Eleven have in common? They are among the multi-location retailers, restaurants, and convenience stores founded 50+ years ago and are still operating today. Restructuring, downsizing, and a move to omnichannel sales are inevitable. When you read about brands that have survived and even thrived over the decades, many […]
Lauren Niehaus Shares 7 Things Retailers Can Learn from the Cannabis Industry
On 4/20, now considered the “national holiday” for cannabis retailers and consumers, I spoke with Lauren Niehaus, Executive Director of Government Relations at Trulieve.Trulieve has the largest retail footprint of cannabis dispensaries today, spanning 185 locations across 10 states — and growing. Growing is an aspect of what Trulieve currently does. Cultivation is part of […]
Experiential Marketing: Connections Over Impressions
Experiential marketing is the future of advertising, not just because it’s fun for participants and makes them feel more connected to the brand – though that’s true in a well-executed campaign. It’s the future because it’s more effective. As Business News Daily notes, when people participate in a brand experience or interaction, 40% say they […]
Stirista Acquires Customer Portfolios, a Strategic Lifecycle Marketing Provider
While many martech firms are retracting in 2023, Stirista is looking at expansion. The data-driven marketing company is acquiring Customer Portfolios, a Boston-based strategic lifecycle marketing provider, in a bid to bolster its customer acquisition marketing solutions with an integrated first-party data platform. “We are thrilled to welcome the talented team at Customer Portfolios to […]
Which Pandemic-Driven Retail Trends Are Here to Stay?
Many of the changes to retail shopping that took place during the pandemic-era were transient. Demand for curbside pickup and contactless delivery, for example, peaked in 2020 and 2021. Other changes in retail trends have been more permanent. Across the country, retailers are continuing to see surging interest in mobile shopping and contactless payments. Fifty-percent […]
E-commerce Retailers Need To Address Shoppers’ Rising Security Concerns
Online retailers and brands face a challenging environment as inflation makes shoppers more price-sensitive and increasingly willing to switch brands. E-commerce growth has also slowed somewhat since the early-pandemic boom, and online shoppers’ concerns about payment fraud, scams, and data protection have grown. More than half of consumers in the State of Consumer Attitudes on […]
Why NYC Needed a Rebrand
New York City is making a strong comeback in attracting business and leisure travelers since Covid-19. On March 28, the organization known for 25 years as NYC & Company, responsible for marketing the many NYC attractions inside and outside of the United States, announced its rebrand. It is now called New York City Tourism + […]
3 Ways AI Will Disrupt QSRs: Perspectives from Susan Sly
Susan Sly, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Radius AI (RAI), grew up in the restaurant business in Canada. That’s one of many reasons she has taken a humanistic approach to artificial intelligence, robotics, and technology, believing that if AI is properly executed it can empower retail, QSR, C-store, and other multi-location employees to become confident and […]
Streets Ahead: Google Chat, and Instagram Reels