Multi-Location Growth Is Becoming an Operating Platform
When reports surfaced that Inspire Brands had confidentially filed for an initial public offering, much of the attention focused on valuation, revenue, and the scale of a restaurant company operating more than 33,000 locations across Arby’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin’, Jimmy John’s, SONIC Drive-In, and Baskin-Robbins. The more interesting story, however, is the collection of […]
Hyper-Local Cultural Moments Are Changing Media Strategy
National campaigns are no longer enough to connect with local audiences. As brands shift toward hyper-local media planning, cultural moments like Pride offer a blueprint for how localized execution can drive more authentic engagement and stronger marketing outcomes. National brands have long relied on centralized media strategies to deliver consistent campaigns across every market. But […]
Jersey Mike’s IPO Highlights the Power of Disciplined MULO Growth
Jersey Mike’s decision to file for an initial public offering comes at a time when restaurant operators face a difficult operating environment marked by cautious consumers, higher labor costs, and slowing industry growth. Yet the sandwich chain has continued to expand its footprint while improving profitability, positioning itself as one of the restaurant industry’s strongest […]
Why AI Is Raising the Cost of Inconsistency for MULO Brands
AI search is exposing a problem many multi-location brands have been able to hide for years: inconsistency across locations. In a world where AI systems recommend businesses rather than simply rank them, operational discipline at the location level may become one of the biggest competitive advantages in local marketing. Multi-location brands have spent the last […]
Kroger’s Giant Eagle Deal Signals the Next Battle in Retail Media
Less than two years after regulators blocked its proposed acquisition of Albertsons, Kroger is back in the acquisition market. This time, the company is taking a smaller and more targeted approach, announcing an agreement to acquire regional grocery chain Giant Eagle in a deal valued at approximately $1.65 billion. At first glance, the transaction appears […]
Big Happy Brings Real-Time Context to 3D DOOH Campaigns
Imagine a billboard that changes based on the weather, local events, or what’s happening in the neighborhood around it. Big Happy says the next generation of 3D DOOH advertising is designed to do exactly that. Which will it be, contextual relevance and visual impact? Brands that want both in the DOOH channel no longer have […]
What Google’s Search Agents Mean for MULO Businesses
Google’s new Search Agents could fundamentally change local discovery by moving from answering questions to finding businesses and completing transactions on behalf of consumers. This means location pages, booking flows, and local data consistency may soon matter more than rankings alone. Google is adding Search agents to Google Search, beginning with information agents that run […]
The Next Retail Media Channel Might Be Sitting on the Shelf
As retailers strengthen their hold over shopper data, multi-location brands are searching for new sources of customer intelligence. The next major first-party data channel may not be digital advertising or loyalty programs, but the package already sitting in a customer’s hand. There was a point in time when it looked like ecommerce would swallow up […]
Broadsign and Partners Execute Fully Agentic OOH Campaign
Broadsign, Global Netherlands, and Draft Digital have demonstrated what may be the first fully agentic OOH (out-of-home) campaign, with autonomous AI agents handling everything from media planning to campaign execution. The project offers an early glimpse into how AI could reshape media buying, hyperlocal targeting, and the future role of marketers. Broadsign and Global Netherlands […]
Walmart’s Vibe Acquisition Shows Its Advertising Ambitions
Walmart has spent the past several years quietly building one of the most formidable advertising businesses outside of the traditional digital giants. What began as a retail media effort designed to monetize shopper data is increasingly evolving into something much larger: a full-funnel advertising ecosystem capable of competing for budgets that have historically flowed to […]
As AI Changes Local Discovery, Scorpion Bets on Scale and Technology
The future of local marketing may depend less on generating leads and more on connecting marketing activity directly to business outcomes. The Scorpion acquisition of 1SEO reflects a growing industry shift toward AI-powered platforms that help businesses compete in an increasingly complex discovery environment. Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing how consumers discover, evaluate, and choose […]
The Local Media Paradox: Turning Community Trust into Measurable Confidence
Despite commanding some of the highest levels of consumer trust in media, local media continues to lose brand advertising budgets to platforms with far weaker audience relationships. The problem isn’t reach or relevance, but an inability to measure and communicate the value of trust in terms brands can buy. Local media owns something the rest […]
What Political Campaigns Can Teach Marketers About Hyperlocal Media Strategy
Political advertising has long served as a testing ground for innovations that eventually make their way into mainstream marketing. Campaigns operate under compressed timelines, face relentless pressure to prove effectiveness, and often have only a single opportunity to influence behavior before Election Day. As a result, many of the strategies developed in political media—from audience […]
Yext Wants to Be the Infrastructure Layer for Agentic Marketing
For most of the last decade, local marketing technology was built around helping brands rank in search engines. That model is beginning to change as AI-powered search experiences, agentic marketing, recommendation engines, and conversational assistants play a larger role in how consumers discover and evaluate businesses. According to Yext’s recent Consumer Search Behaviors report, 28% […]
Basis and Cint Want Brand Metrics to Matter Before Campaigns End
Digital advertising has long operated with two separate measurement systems. On one side sit performance metrics such as clicks, conversions, cost per acquisition (CPA), and return on ad spend (ROAS). These indicators provide near real-time visibility into campaign activity and allow marketers to optimize media while campaigns are running. On the other side are brand […]
Google’s New AI Search Rules Create a Challenge for MULO Brands
Google recently published its first official guide to optimizing websites for generative AI Search features. For single-location businesses, the guidance is fairly straightforward. For multi-location brands (MULOs), the same principles apply, but the complexity of executing them scales dramatically with every location you add. Here’s what the guide says, and what it actually means if you’re […]
The Goddard School Is Changing How Franchise Marketing Gets Done
Growth creates a unique challenge for franchise organizations. Every new location expands revenue opportunities, but it also adds complexity. More locations mean more local marketing channels to manage, more reviews to monitor, more business listings to maintain, and more customer interactions that require attention. At a certain point, growth itself begins to change how marketing […]
What Yelp’s Fastest-Growing Brands Reveal About Consumer Behavior
Every year, lists of the fastest-growing brands offer more than a snapshot of corporate success. They provide insight into what consumers increasingly value, how preferences are evolving, and where demand is moving next. Yelp’s 2026 Fastest-Growing Brands report does exactly that. Based on growth in consumer engagement across the Yelp platform, the rankings highlight brands […]
Why MULO Brands Are Investing More in Creator-Led Marketing
Creator-led marketing is rapidly evolving from an experimental tactic into a core component of many brands’ growth strategies. As consumers spend more time with creator-generated content and place greater trust in peer recommendations than traditional advertising, marketers are increasingly turning to creators as a scalable channel for customer acquisition, engagement, and brand building. The trend […]
Why Challenger Brands Win by Solving Different Problems
The biggest opportunities for challenger brands often come from solving problems established competitors have overlooked. This founder perspective explores why educating the market, not simply promoting a product, can be the key to winning in saturated markets. Americans spent over $121 billion on shoes last year, according to the Footwear Distributors & Retailers of America, […]