News and Analysis
App Science Audiences Deliver Higher Attention Than CTV Averages, Study Finds
As connected TV shifts from a reach-first channel to a performance-driven medium, attention … not impressions … is emerging as the metric advertisers care about most. New research from TVision suggests that CTV effectiveness is increasingly shaped by audience strategy, not just premium inventory labels. The study found that campaigns using App Science audience segments […]
Basis and Mediaocean Aim to Automate the Full Media Lifecycle
In an advertising ecosystem increasingly defined by fragmentation, operational complexity, and rising pressure for accountability, automation has moved from incremental improvement to strategic necessity. That shift is at the heart of a new integration partnership between Basis and Mediaocean, which together are seeking to automate the entire media lifecycle , from planning and activation through […]
Think National, Speak Local: Why Content Localization Drives Brand Trust
Brands earn attention when they sound like they belong. For national organizations, that sense of belonging doesn’t happen by accident. Content localization is the bridge between a big brand promise and a personal, community-level connection. It’s how a national healthcare message resonates in a small-town clinic, or how a nonprofit mission becomes a topic of […]
Commentary
Streets Ahead: Agentic Shopping, Reviews, and the Rise of Fresh Content
In this week’s Streets Ahead update, SOCi discusses Google’s agentic shopping move in AI-Driven commerce, review recency and volume driving local visibility, and freshness as the new authority in AI search Agentic Shopping: Google’s Next Move in AI-Driven Commerce The News Just in time for peak holiday spending, Google has rolled out agentic Shopping in […]
Streets Ahead: Whitespark Local Ranking Factors and Local Lists in GBP
In this week’s Streets Ahead update, SOCi discusses 2026 Local Ranking Factors from Whitespark as well as local lists in Google Business Profiles 2026 Local Search Ranking Factors: Engagement, Credibility, and Connection The News Whitespark’s Local Search Ranking Factors report remains one of the industry’s most trusted indicators of what drives visibility in local search. […]
Content Marketing in the Era of AI Fatigue
AI wants to help you with your content marketing. In fact, it wouldn’t mind at all being at the center of your content marketing strategy. Tell it what you need, giving it as many or as few details as you’d like, and it will crank out content for you nonstop and freakishly fast. And if […]
Latest Posts
Translation Needs the Right Turn of Phrase
Phrase is a language technology platform that combines advanced AI translation tools, workflow automation, and creative collaboration within a single environment built to answer the need for any and all global content needs across a business. Phrase has released a new wave of product innovations across global markets. Capabilities like Auto Adapt, Phrase Studio, the […]
Scaling Seasonal SEO Across Locations With AI Insights
For multi-location brands, adapting to highly localized, seasonal shifts in consumer behavior is key to maximizing revenue. But when it comes to local SEO, it can be incredibly complex to manage strategies at scale across locations numbering in the double or triple digits. For marketers managing dozens or hundreds of locations, tracking these hyperlocal patterns […]
MULO Dozen: Fall Brands in Review
Never a dull moment in the MULO (multi-location) brand ecosystem! And this fall has been no exception. From leadership changes to tech innovations, the retail, restaurant, service, and hospitality worlds are ever-changing! Private equity ownership of MULO brands is nothing new. As revealed in a recent press release, Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers has been […]
BUST: No Cure for Rite Aid’s Ills?
Sometimes businesses, like people, simply don’t respond to health “treatment.” Rite Aid may, sadly, be among those brands. Founded in 1962 (under the name “Thrift D Discount Center”), they were once the third-largest drugstore chain in the U.S., operating 1,200 locations. The category of health and wellness itself is still going strong, but in 2023, […]
Independent Agencies Are Getting Boxed Out of Adtech
Adtech wasn’t built for the local shop on Main Street. It was built for the holding company on Madison Avenue. Independent agencies—fast-moving, deeply embedded in their communities, and focused on outcomes—have always punched above their weight. But today’s advertising infrastructure doesn’t support how they operate. From minimum spend requirements and opaque supply paths to bloated platforms […]
Halloween 2025 Begins and Results are Not Scary
“Summerween” is a term explored by Retail Next. You’ve probably noticed that Halloween pumpkins rapidly replaced flip-flops as early as July. It’s no wonder. The holiday results in as much as $12B in annual spending, and retailers are looking to get their share of the sales treat bag. A recent study (reported in that RetailNext […]
StreetFight LIVE’25: 12 Trends & Disruptive Ideas To Watch
Street Fight LIVE 2025 attracted the best and the brightest thought leaders from across the MULO (multi-location) ecosystem. We deliberately curated and invited a select, diverse group of dynamic senior executives from retail, restaurant, service, agency, and technology businesses to share their perspectives on the future trends and disruptive ideas for MULO brands in an […]
Streets Ahead: ChatGPT, AI-Generated meta descriptions and AI Mode
In this week’s Streets Ahead update, SOCi discusses OpenAI expanding the ChatGPT ecosystem, Google experimenting with AI-Generated meta descriptions in search results and Google’s AI Mode reshaping how people search OpenAI Expands ChatGPT’s Ecosystem The News OpenAI has unveiled a major expansion of the ChatGPT experience with the launch of in-app integrations and a new […]
Survey: Voters Feel ‘Worse Off’ Compared to Early 2025
President Donald Trump has a personality problem, according to the latest Voters Trend Report from Resonate, a technology company combines big data and psychographic survey studies to develop an understanding of consumer motivations. Survey responses found that half of respondents expressed dissatisfaction with his personal behavior. Only 13% are satisfied, leaving more than a third […]
AI Is Breaking Down Data Silos — Without Breaking Privacy
The world of marketing has quickly moved away from legacy, invasive practices that took liberties with customer data, and into a new, privacy-first era. Direct collaborations based on first-party data have become the most effective way for brands and media owners to identify shared customers, develop audience insights, and plan, activate, and measure campaigns. While […]
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