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.

Location and lenses: What does the future look like for Snapchat?
Social & Community

Location and lenses: What does the future look like for Snapchat?

6y Mike O'Brien

Location and lenses: What does the future look lik...

Despite new features for users and better analytics for marketers, Snap had a dismal Q1. Instagram has duplicated many of Snapchat's signature feature...

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What's your Alexa strategy?: Smart speakers and their role in the customer journey
AI & Automation

What's your Alexa strategy?: Smart speakers and their role in the customer ...

6y Mike O'Brien

What's your Alexa strategy?: Smart speakers and th...

Voice commerce is projected to explode over the next few years, from $2 billion today to more than $40 billion by 2022. But marketers don't have four ...

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4 takeaways from Neiman Marcus' awesome mobile app
Ecommerce

4 takeaways from Neiman Marcus' awesome mobile app

6y Mike O'Brien

4 takeaways from Neiman Marcus' awesome mobile app

As many legacy retailers struggle, Neiman Marcus is flourshing, something attributed to the brand's digital-first strategy. The mobile app epitomizes ...

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The new luxury landscape: How Tiffany & Co., Gucci and LVMH are embracing digital transformation
Ecommerce

The new luxury landscape: How Tiffany & Co., Gucci and LVMH are embraci...

6y Mike O'Brien

The new luxury landscape: How Tiffany & Co., G...

As wealthier consumers do more of their shopping online, luxury brands have no choice but to embrace digital transformation. See how Tiffany & Co....

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5 first-party data strategies to power your personalization
Analytics

5 first-party data strategies to power your personalization

6y Mike O'Brien

5 first-party data strategies to power your person...

The most valuable data is the first-party data brands get directly from their customers. Here are five strategies that will help brands and advertiser...

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Blockchain 101: AdLedger, IBM and Salon Media team up to make sure marketers understand the technology
Blockchain

Blockchain 101: AdLedger, IBM and Salon Media team up to make sure marketer...

6y Mike O'Brien

Blockchain 101: AdLedger, IBM and Salon Media team...

Blockchain has tremendous power to be a catalyst in cleaning up the digital advertising landscape—but only if companies understand how it works. AdLed...

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Informed delivery and the omnichannel future of the United States Post Office
Leadership

Informed delivery and the omnichannel future of the United States Post Offi...

6y Mike O'Brien

Informed delivery and the omnichannel future of th...

Don't let Amazon's dominance fool you—the United States Post Office is the real biggest player in ecommerce. When it's not delivering millions of pack...

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Google, Yandex and Baidu: Strategies for expanding your search marketing
Search

Google, Yandex and Baidu: Strategies for expanding your search marketing

6y Mike O'Brien

Google, Yandex and Baidu: Strategies for expanding...

Most marketers plan to expand their global footprints very soon... but they also have a difficult time getting insight into how their content performs...

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"Trading can be fun": A look at TradeStation's omnichannel rebrand
Finance

"Trading can be fun": A look at TradeStation's omnichannel rebrand

6y Mike O'Brien

"Trading can be fun": A look at TradeStation's omn...

A pop-up hair salon and partnership with Cheddar highlights the omnichannel rebranding efforts of TradeStation, an online brokerage firm that's spent ...

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Augmented reality, outer space and emerging technology: How USA TODAY is revolutionizing journalism
AR & VR

Augmented reality, outer space and emerging technology: How USA TODAY is re...

6y Mike O'Brien

Augmented reality, outer space and emerging techno...

While many publishers struggle to look past ad revenue, USA TODAY embraces emerging technology. A new augmented reality app allows users to experience...

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Google, Amazon and the relationship between paid search and ecommerce
Search

Google, Amazon and the relationship between paid search and ecommerce

6y Mike O'Brien

Google, Amazon and the relationship between paid s...

Amazon has always threatened retailers, but as the ecommerce juggernaut grows its digital ad business, it's also posing a challenge to Google, which h...

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How 3 retailers are looking ahead in the wake of Toys ‘R’ Us
Leadership

How 3 retailers are looking ahead in the wake of Toys ‘R’ Us

6y Mike O'Brien

How 3 retailers are looking ahead in the wake of T...

Earlier this month, Toys ‘R’ Us shut its doors for good, proving once and for all that retail is incredibly disruptable. Three brands that don’t plan ...

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Cleaning up with Clorox: Why CMO Eric Reynolds doesn't believe it's enough to simply be "consumer-driven"
Ecommerce

Cleaning up with Clorox: Why CMO Eric Reynolds doesn't believe it's enough ...

6y Mike O'Brien

Cleaning up with Clorox: Why CMO Eric Reynolds doe...

The idea that everyone loves a clean environment has always driven Clorox's product sales. CMO Eric Reynolds discusses how he's applying the idea of c...

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St. Patrick's Day reminds us that "the holidays" don't end in January
Leadership

St. Patrick's Day reminds us that "the holidays" don't end in January

6y Mike O'Brien

St. Patrick's Day reminds us that "the holidays" d...

It's easy to think of "the holidays" as that period between Black Friday and New Year's Day. But there are plenty of other holidays throughout the yea...

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Can artificial intelligence create content as well as a human?
AI & Automation

Can artificial intelligence create content as well as a human?

6y Mike O'Brien

Can artificial intelligence create content as well...

A couple of weeks ago we received an email from a company that uses artificial intelligence to create content. 'You choose the topic and length, and o...

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Coffee, doughnuts and Big Data: Q+A with Dunkin' Donuts VP Sherrill Kaplan
Mobile

Coffee, doughnuts and Big Data: Q+A with Dunkin' Donuts VP Sherrill Kaplan

6y Mike O'Brien

Coffee, doughnuts and Big Data: Q+A with Dunkin' D...

Naturally, loyalty is hugely important to Dunkin’ Donuts, which, despite its name, mostly sells coffee. We spoke with Kaplan about what inspired DD Pe...

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Chase CMO Kristin Lemkau and the evolution of the ad unit
Display Advertising

Chase CMO Kristin Lemkau and the evolution of the ad unit

6y Mike O'Brien

Chase CMO Kristin Lemkau and the evolution of the ...

During a WHOSAY event, Chase CMO Kristin Lemkau discussed the bank's future as more of its own media company, as well as the evolution of the ad unit ...

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Who gets the gold?: The best marketing from the PyeongChang Winter Olympics
Digital Advertising

Who gets the gold?: The best marketing from the PyeongChang Winter Olympics

6y Mike O'Brien

Who gets the gold?: The best marketing from the Py...

In the spirit of competition, we looked back at this year's Olympics marketing and crowned nine (one for each of Team USA's gold medals) marketing win...

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6 ways HQ Trivia could open up to advertisers
Digital Marketing

6 ways HQ Trivia could open up to advertisers

6y Mike O'Brien

6 ways HQ Trivia could open up to advertisers

We're probably not the only ones who play HQ Trivia every afternoon and then speculate about how the game doesn't have an advertising model, but what ...

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Mass one-to-one marketing: Procter & Gamble Chief Brand Officer Marc Pritchard on the future of marketing
Leadership

Mass one-to-one marketing: Procter & Gamble Chief Brand Officer Marc Pr...

6y Mike O'Brien

Mass one-to-one marketing: Procter & Gamble Ch...

At WHOSAY's ANA Masters of Marketing event, Procter & Gamble Chief Brand Officer Marc Pritchard discussed “mass one-to-one marketing" and why it's...

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Leading by example, compact content and other insights from Freedman International's Global Marketing Trends study
Leadership

Leading by example, compact content and other insights from Freedman Intern...

6y Mike O'Brien

Leading by example, compact content and other insi...

ClickZ and Freedman International surveyed more than 500 senior global marketers in the U.S. and U.K. to ask them what challenges and opportunities th...

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[Study] Capitalizing on "mobile moments" is the key to connecting with consumers
Mobile

[Study] Capitalizing on "mobile moments" is the key to connecting with cons...

6y Mike O'Brien

[Study] Capitalizing on "mobile moments" is the ke...

"Reaching the right consumer at the right place at the right time" is easier said than done. While the proliferation of mobile devices makes anywhere ...

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[Study] 95% of marketers are banking on live video this year
Content

[Study] 95% of marketers are banking on live video this year

6y Mike O'Brien

[Study] 95% of marketers are banking on live video...

2018 has been called the year of video marketing. So was 2017 and several years before that, too, for that matter. It’s always “the year of video” bec...

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ClickZ's Super Bowl LII winners, with a technology twist
Digital Advertising

ClickZ's Super Bowl LII winners, with a technology twist

6y Mike O'Brien

ClickZ's Super Bowl LII winners, with a technology...

"Super Bowl winners" is usually based on the public's favorite ads, which often involve puppies tugging at the heartstrings. This year, we're focusing...

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Agility, innovation and guacamole: Q+A with Avocados From Mexico's Ivonne Kinser
Digital Advertising

Agility, innovation and guacamole: Q+A with Avocados From Mexico's Ivonne K...

6y Mike O'Brien

Agility, innovation and guacamole: Q+A with Avocad...

Avocados From Mexico is back for its fourth Super Bowl and this year's campaign is its biggest yet. Just before the game, we talked to Ivonne Kinser, ...

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Bad data breeds bad leads: Cleaning up data for the sake of the B2B sales cycle
Analytics

Bad data breeds bad leads: Cleaning up data for the sake of the B2B sales c...

6y Mike O'Brien

Bad data breeds bad leads: Cleaning up data for th...

We create more data than ever before—but most of that data is bad. What does that mean for B2B marketers and their lead generation efforts? Read More...

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Brands and blockchain: How Walmart, Burger King and De Beers are snuggling up to decentralization
Blockchain

Brands and blockchain: How Walmart, Burger King and De Beers are snuggling ...

6y Mike O'Brien

Brands and blockchain: How Walmart, Burger King an...

We often talk about blockchain in a speculative way, but brands like Walmart, Amazon and Burger King are already embracing the technology. Diamond pow...

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