Marketing SaaS provider Springbig is offering three new tools to licensed cannabis retailers: An email engine, digital wallet notifications and data-driven campaign builder. 

The goal is to provide Cannabis sellers with “the most sophisticated and functional tools to candidly communicate with their evolving consumer audiences,” says Sam Harris, co-founder and head of product of Springbig.

The company’s email marketing engine allows retailers to drag and drop graphics, edit colors and fonts, insert buttons, and access other creative tools to design customized emails that mirror mainstream marketing campaigns, the company claims. 

In addition, the email engine can incorporate retailers’ loyalty programs into email campaigns.

The firm also has a  Member Offers feature that helps dispensaries compliantly send promotional notifications directly to customers’ digital wallets even if they have opted out of SMS marketing messages, it adds. 

Cannabis brands can use this tool to  make offers unique offers based on age, location, occupation, and lifestyle preferences.

Meanwhile, a feature called Campaign Caddie enables dispensaries to develop cost-effective data-driven marketing campaigns. Users can leverage performance indicators based 

Recently, Springbig recently completed integrations with Olla, POSaBIT Weedmaps Store, Tymber and Greenline, and launched of its re:source loyalty app.

Google will pay $90 million to settle a class-action lawsuit with U.S. application developers over alleged anticompetitive behavior in the Google Play Store -- and build an Indie Apps Corner to showcase independent and small startup developers building unique high-quality apps.

The Indie Apps Corner will appear in the apps tab on the U.S. Google Play home page and shine a spotlight on these developers.

As part of the settlement, attorneys alleged Google excluded competing app stores from its platform and charged app developers with massive fees.

Law firm Hagens Berman announced the settlement Thursday. They were one of the first to file a class case. The firm also was one of four that secured a $100 million settlement from Apple in 2021 for U.S. iOS developers.

The Android app community helped to create nearly two million American jobs. Developers worldwide earned more than $120 billion using the Google Play Store, Wilson White, vice president of government affairs and public policy at Google, wrote in a post. 

As part of the settlement, Google will establish a $90 million fund to support U.S. developers who earned two million dollars or less in annual revenue through Google Play during each year from 2016 through 2021.

“A vast majority of U.S. developers who earned revenue through Google Play will be eligible to receive money from this fund, if they choose,” White wrote. “If the court approves the settlement, developers that qualify will be notified and allowed to receive a distribution from the fund.”

White also described a commitment by Google to maintain several existing practices and implement new benefits to help developers innovate and communicate with users.

The commitment includes providing developers with a tiered pricing model. Google will maintain a 15% commission rate for the first $1 million in annual revenue earned from the Google Play Store for U.S. developers, which we implemented in 2021.

Google also revised its Developer Distribution Agreement to make it clear that developers can continue to use contact information gained in-app to communicate with users out-of-apps, including about subscription offers or lower-cost offerings on a rival app store or the developer’s website.

As part of the agreement, Google, in following versions of Android, Google will implement in Android 12 features that make it even easier for people to use other app stores on their devices.

Delta Airlines has launched its “Parallel Reality” technology at its Detroit Metropolitan Airport hub.

The technology, which first debuted at CES in 2020, allows up to 100 customers to each see personalized flight information tailored to their unique trip on a single, shared digital screen, simplifying their journey through the airport at a glance. 

Customers who opt in to using digital identity at check-in can access the exhibit via facial recognition through the camera at the kiosk screen while non-digital identity customers can access it by scanning a boarding pass.

Unlike the old school screens which list dozens of arriving and departing flights, this data is personalized for each traveler. 

While most seasoned airport travelers already have the information at their fingertips via the Delta app, less frequent travelers will find the experience useful, says Ranjan Goswami, Delta Air Lines senior vice president – customer experience.

“If this new technology can make finding your gate and departure information quicker and easier, we’re not just showing customers a magic trick — we’re solving a real problem,” he says in a release. “Customers already rely on personalized navigation via their mobile devices, but this is enabling a public screen to act as a personal one – removing the clutter of information not relevant to you to empower a better journey.” 

Innovation at Delta is human-centric, said Matt Muta, vice President - innovation, in a release. 

“We’re not chasing shiny objects, we’re looking for ways to make our customers’ lives easier,” Muta says in a release. “Ultimately, this technology is a way to make the customer feel seen and valued. Imagine the peace of mind that such individualized messaging can provide to a traveler who is overwhelmed by the airport environment.”

Tech scouts at Delta’s global innovation center, The Hangar, first came across the technology three years ago. The airline partnered with Southern California-based tech startup Misapplied Sciences, led by CEO Albert Ng, to bring it to life.  

The experience speaks to the future of travel, Ng says.

Delta’s “objectives mesh perfectly with our company's vision of personalized experiences in public environments; and technology that empowers people without complexity or gadgets,” Ng adds. 

Delta is also investing in digital identity technology, which allows customers to move through the airport using facial recognition, eliminating the need to show a boarding pass or government ID. Digital ID is available in Atlanta, Detroit, Los Angeles, and New York’s LaGuardia and will eventually be activated in all of Delta’s U.S. hubs. 

Volkswagen Group of America has created a new C-Suite position that focuses on the automaker’s digital and data strategy.

Neeru Arora has been appointed executive vice president, chief information officer (CIO) and chief digital officer (CDO) for Volkswagen Group of America and the North America Region, which includes both Volkswagen and Audi brands. 

Arora will focus on “creating a comprehensive digital and data strategy that will enable Volkswagen Group of America to develop and sustain its competitive advantage amid the automotive industry’s digital transformation,” according to the automaker. 

Her appointment comes in the wake of Volkswagen’s $7.1 billion commitment to boost product line-up, R&D, and manufacturing in North America, including a concerted investment in software and digital solutions, says Scott Keogh, president and chief executive officer, Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. 

As part of that, Volkswagen plans to bring over-the-air updates and new software features, such as Plug&Charge, for the ID.4 SUV this year. Volkswagen is also working with CARIAD SE, Volkswagen Group’s software entity, to support the formation of its North American subsidiary, with software units in Seattle and California’s Bay Area. The goal is to strengthen the company’s digital footprint in America.

Arora will join the group management committee and the board of management for Volkswagen’s North America Region to create and ensure the seamless implementation of its strategic vision.

She has spent the last four year at Volkswagen Credit as senior vice president and chief information officer where she oversaw the implementation of a new operating model and created advanced cyber and infrastructure programs.

She previously held a series of technology and business leadership roles with McKinsey & Company, UBS and the Chicago Board of Trade.

As vehicles become more integrated with the digital ecosystems, digital experiences must be seamless across multiple touch points, including in-car, mobile apps, desktop and dealerships, Arora says.

“Our connected car data will enable VW to deliver distinctive customer value and open new revenue generation opportunities,” Arora says in a statement. 

Chick-fil-A is the leader in customer satisfaction not only among QSR chains but all U.S. restaurants for the eighth consecutive year, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index.

The most notable change among the top 10 QSRs was that of Jimmy John’s, which hadn’t been measured previously by the ACSI, but ranks #3 behind #2, an unidentified group of “all other” quick-service restaurants.

Chick-fil-A repeated its 2021 score of 83 out of 100 among 20,143 email respondents surveyed between April of 2021 and March of this year.

Following Jimmy John’s were, in descending order, Domino’s (an ACSI score of 78 in 2022 versus 80 in 2021), KFC (78 versus 79), Chipotle (77 in both years), Panera Bread (77 versus 78), Pizza Hut (77 versus 78), Starbucks (77 versus 79) and Arby’s (76 versus 77).

At the bottom of the QSR satisfaction food chain were Taco Bell (72 in 2022 versus 74 in 2021), Popeyes (71 versus 73) and McDonald’s (68 versus 70).

Among customer experience benchmarks for QSRs “accuracy of food order” and “quality of mobile app” are the highest-ranked—with a score of 83 each this year, virtually identical to 2021.

QSRs ranked lowest for “speed of check-out or delivery” (80), “variety of food on menu (not including beverages)” at 79 and variety of beverages on menu (77).

ASCI dubbed the debut of Illinois-based Jimmy John’s high up in its satisfaction rankings as “freaky fast”—a nod to the chain’s delivery policy.

It’s not clear why Jimmy John’s had not been included in previous ACSI surveys.

In the past year, the chain debuted the character of Tony Bolognavich—“the king of cold cuts”—portrayed by actor Brad Garrett while substantially boosting its spending on advertising media.

According to data from Kantar—which tracks everything except paid search and social media, and includes network radio only through March of 2021—Jimmy John’s spent $47.3 million last year, representing a 44% increase over 2020.

In the first quarter of this year the chain spent $13.7 million, down from $19.7 million in the prior-year period.