Mike O'Brien

A former ClickZ editor, Mike O'Brien couldn't stay away and now contributes to the site in addition to working as a content marketer at Sailthru, the world's largest sender of personalized email. He primarily writes about the innovative ways brands use technology now and the ways they might in the future.

The state of mobile payments going into 2019 and beyond
Mobile

The state of mobile payments going into 2019 and beyond

5y Mike O'Brien

The state of mobile payments going into 2019 and b...

Adoption of mobile payments in the U.S. is slowly but steadily increasing, something that can be accelerated as more Amazon Go stores pop up. Read Mor...

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ClickZ's 2018 holiday season recap
Ecommerce

ClickZ's 2018 holiday season recap

5y Mike O'Brien

ClickZ's 2018 holiday season recap

Now that the 2018 holiday season is over, we're looking back at some of the past few weeks' biggest trends, from mobile commerce to ecommerce in Wyomi...

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"Stores are the new media": Q+A with Adobe's Michael Klein
Ecommerce

"Stores are the new media": Q+A with Adobe's Michael Klein

5y Mike O'Brien

"Stores are the new media": Q+A with Adobe's Micha...

Michael Klein, Adobe's Director of Industry Strategy for Retail, shares his insights on what is the biggest holiday shopping season ever. Read More...

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Is DuckDuckGo on the verge of another surge in popularity?
Search

Is DuckDuckGo on the verge of another surge in popularity?

5y Mike O'Brien

Is DuckDuckGo on the verge of another surge in pop...

After Facebook's Cambridge Analytica scandal, one of many tech giant controversies this year, DuckDuckGo saw its most dramatic increase in traffic eve...

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With augmented reality and inner-city stores, IKEA aims to disrupt itself
Ecommerce

With augmented reality and inner-city stores, IKEA aims to disrupt itself

5y Mike O'Brien

With augmented reality and inner-city stores, IKEA...

"Disrupt" is an unpopular marketing buzzword, but that's exactly what IKEA is doing with technological enhancements and more stores in cities. Read Mo...

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How Best Buy, Nordstrom and Nike bring personalization to physical stores
Analytics

How Best Buy, Nordstrom and Nike bring personalization to physical stores

5y Mike O'Brien

How Best Buy, Nordstrom and Nike bring personaliza...

Personalization is a hallmark of online marketing and savvy retailers like Best Buy and Target are bringing it to brick-and-mortar with modern technol...

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The most important thing to P&G Chief Brand Officer Marc Pritchard
Leadership

The most important thing to P&G Chief Brand Officer Marc Pritchard

5y Mike O'Brien

The most important thing to P&G Chief Brand Of...

The world's largest advertiser, P&G certainly prizes creativity. Chief Brand Officer Marc Pritchard believes creativity requires diversity and inc...

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5 takeaways from the record-breaking Cyber Weekend
Ecommerce

5 takeaways from the record-breaking Cyber Weekend

5y Mike O'Brien

5 takeaways from the record-breaking Cyber Weekend

Cyber Monday was the largest online shopping day in both U.S. and Amazon history, while Cyber Weekend saw a surge in sales globally and on mobile devi...

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6 great examples of email marketing from Black Friday and Cyber Monday
Email

6 great examples of email marketing from Black Friday and Cyber Monday

5y Mike O'Brien

6 great examples of email marketing from Black Fri...

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are huge days for retailers, resulting in a surplus of email marketing. See how Dollar Shave Club, eBay and DSW stood ou...

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Alibaba's record-breaking Singles Day and its impact on global ecommerce
Ecommerce

Alibaba's record-breaking Singles Day and its impact on global ecommerce

5y Mike O'Brien

Alibaba's record-breaking Singles Day and its impa...

How did Singles Day, essentially a made-up holiday, become the world’s largest online shopping day? And how does it influence the rest of the world? R...

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Connected TV: The challenges and opportunities for marketers
Digital Advertising

Connected TV: The challenges and opportunities for marketers

5y Mike O'Brien

Connected TV: The challenges and opportunities for...

Connected TV is on the rise and the fragmentation that poses a challenge also presents an opportunity, in the form of more sophisticated ad targeting....

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Can you explain the difference between blockchain and Bitcoin?
Blockchain

Can you explain the difference between blockchain and Bitcoin?

5y Mike O'Brien

Can you explain the difference between blockchain ...

Not every marketer can, which is why AdLedger and several (competing) global advertising agencies have partnered on a blockchain education initative. ...

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Thinking outside the box: A look at the popularity of subscription boxes
Ecommerce

Thinking outside the box: A look at the popularity of subscription boxes

6y Mike O'Brien

Thinking outside the box: A look at the popularity...

Subscription boxes are more popular than ever and since this category has traditionally struggled with retention, there's a lot of opportunity for bra...

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Walmart is the world's largest retailer. Is it also one of the most innovative?
Leadership

Walmart is the world's largest retailer. Is it also one of the most innovat...

6y Mike O'Brien

Walmart is the world's largest retailer. Is it als...

Investments in technology such as blockchain, automation and personalization help Walmart stand up to its stiffest competition, Amazon. Read More...

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How Reese's, Walmart and Jagermeister nailed their Halloween marketing
Digital Advertising

How Reese's, Walmart and Jagermeister nailed their Halloween marketing

6y Mike O'Brien

How Reese's, Walmart and Jagermeister nailed their...

With Black Friday and Cyber Monday right around the corner, it's easy to forget about Halloween. These four brands didn't. Read More...

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Attention to attribution: Q+A with The Trade Desk CMO Susan Vobejda
Analytics

Attention to attribution: Q+A with The Trade Desk CMO Susan Vobejda

6y Mike O'Brien

Attention to attribution: Q+A with The Trade Desk ...

In this Q+A with The Trade Desk CMO Susan Vobejda, we discuss the importance of offline attribution as a KPI during the holiday season. Read More...

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Amazon is on track to dominate apparel sales. What's next for retailers?
Ecommerce

Amazon is on track to dominate apparel sales. What's next for retailers?

6y Mike O'Brien

Amazon is on track to dominate apparel sales. What...

Morgan Stanley estimates that Amazon will be the country's top apparel retailer by the end of the year. How can clothing brands compete? Read More...

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Location, location, location: Where do Snapchat users go before shopping?
Social media

Location, location, location: Where do Snapchat users go before shopping?

6y Mike O'Brien

Location, location, location: Where do Snapchat us...

Much more forthcoming with marketers these days, Snapchat has valuable location data that demonstrates where users tend to go before and after they sh...

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How can augmented reality enhance the experience for sports fans?
AR & VR

How can augmented reality enhance the experience for sports fans?

6y Mike O'Brien

How can augmented reality enhance the experience f...

As people continue to second-screen and expect more from venues, AR gives brands the opportunity to improve the experience. Read More...

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What makes Target so popular among Gen Z consumers?
Ecommerce

What makes Target so popular among Gen Z consumers?

6y Mike O'Brien

What makes Target so popular among Gen Z consumers...

C+R Research analyzed Google search volume from major college towns and determined that Target is Gen Z's favorite brand. What about the retailer reso...

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Display ads 101: what they are and how to do them well
Display Advertising

Display ads 101: what they are and how to do them well

6y Mike O'Brien

Display ads 101: what they are and how to do them ...

An intro guide to display ads: what you need to know about display advertising, pros and cons, and how to make sure you do them well. Read More...

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ClickZ's guide to email marketing triggered messages
Email

ClickZ's guide to email marketing triggered messages

6y Mike O'Brien

ClickZ's guide to email marketing triggered messag...

According to the Data & Marketing Association, triggered messages account for more than three-quarters of email marketing revenue. Here are five o...

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An inside view on navigating Amazon: Q+A with Downstream CEO Connor Folley
Email

An inside view on navigating Amazon: Q+A with Downstream CEO Connor Folley

6y Mike O'Brien

An inside view on navigating Amazon: Q+A with Down...

We spoke with Amazon alum Connor Folley, who founded Downstream, which helps marketers use automation technology to maximize their Amazon ROI. Read Mo...

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Which mobile ad formats really catch the consumer's eye?
Digital Marketing

Which mobile ad formats really catch the consumer's eye?

6y Mike O'Brien

Which mobile ad formats really catch the consumer'...

Viewability is a prized metric, but it doesn't tell the whole story. A new study used biometric technology to see what kinds of mobile ads really reso...

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What makes Pinterest so shoppable?: Q&A with Product Manager Tim Weingarten
Ecommerce

What makes Pinterest so shoppable?: Q&A with Product Manager Tim Weinga...

6y Mike O'Brien

What makes Pinterest so shoppable?: Q&A with P...

We spoke with Tim Weingarten, a product manager at Pinterest, about why the platform's inherently shoppable, its evolution into search, and what's nex...

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Has the retail apocalypse come for grocery brands?
Digital Transformation

Has the retail apocalypse come for grocery brands?

6y Mike O'Brien

Has the retail apocalypse come for grocery brands?

With Amazon investing heavily in the grocery space, brands like Kroger, and even Walmart and Target, have no choice but to embrace digital transformat...

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Looking back three months: What's changed since the GDPR went into effect?
Analytics

Looking back three months: What's changed since the GDPR went into effect?

6y Mike O'Brien

Looking back three months: What's changed since th...

Some marketers are still scrambling to become GDPR compliant, others are changing their martech stacks, and consumers largely don't notice a differenc...

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