A report of how mobile providers are profiting from customers' real-time location data by tech news site Motherboard has led to lawmakers requesting an emergency briefing from the Federal Communications Commission. "This briefing should explain why the Federal Communications Commission has yet to end wireless carriers' unauthorized disclosure of consumers' real-time location data and what actions the FCC has taken to address this issue to date," Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. wrote in a letter to the FCC.

Billions of connected devices are coming to the internet of things, presenting a vast new field of opportunity for marketers to reach users and collect data. Robin Kurzer explores the ways some companies are already using the IoT for marketing, beginning with smart speakers and other home-based devices.

The internet of things could make heavy use of 5G's ability to handle large amounts of data, although Paul Bevan of Bloor, a consulting and advisory firm, says many IoT devices can still function well without it. "It is in areas requiring low latency, such as autonomous vehicles or, further down the track, remote robotic surgery that 5G really comes into its own," Bevan adds.

MavenMagnet and Forbes analyzed the most talked about issues among marketing chiefs at CES 2019, finding the hottest topic was marketing innovation. Brand fundamentals, which covers storytelling and customercentricity, came in second, while artificial intelligence was the third-most discussed issue.

The massive data breach that compromised the information of almost 400 million customers was traced to one of Marriott's loyalty programs, so the company has unveiled Marriott Bonvoy, a new loyalty program that will take the place of the previous three offered by the company. Marriott Rewards, The Ritz-Carlton Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest -- which was determined to be the source of the breach -- will be replaced by Marriott Bonvoy Feb. 13.

Subway is seeking to build on the tenfold increase in return on investment that it saw when testing Mobivity's mobile platform for data-based one-to-one marketing. Plans call for expanding these campaigns to 3,000 stores in Canada and 2,500 in Ireland and the UK.

Legacy brands must "botify" their customer experience to compete against digitally native competitors, which means breaking down internal silos and bureaucracy to capture data insights and create a digital-first culture, writes Ben Lamm. Traditional brands must change their mindsets to take risks to meet modern consumer demand for delightful digital experiences, he writes.

In today's hyperconnected digital economy, building brand intensity with the social-first generation is critical. Intensity measures a consumer's emotional connection to content or a brand, determined by a physiological or behavioral response.