Why Time Is the Most Democratic Asset – And Brands Should Treat It That Way

Why It Matters

Treating consumer time as a measurable asset and leveraging unbiased location intelligence enables brands to drive genuine engagement and incremental sales, a critical advantage in today’s fragmented, privacy‑driven advertising ecosystem.

Key Takeaways

• Time is the only truly democratic asset for consumers.
• Brands must maximize in‑store time to create ambassadors.
• Location intelligence bridges offline visits with digital ad exposure.
• High‑quality identity graphs are essential for reliable cross‑channel attribution.
• Independent measurement avoids bias from media‑owned analytics solutions.

Summary

The video argues that time is the most democratic asset—every person, regardless of background, receives the same 24‑hour allotment. As the digital economy pulls attention online, brands with physical locations must treat the minutes customers spend in‑store as a strategic resource, shaping experiences that turn visitors into vocal advocates. Key points include the shift from real‑world to digital engagement, the need to measure and extend in‑store dwell time, and the role of location intelligence in linking offline footfall to online ad exposure. The speakers stress that reliable cross‑channel attribution hinges on high‑quality identity graphs and deterministic matching, while acknowledging the challenges of data fragmentation, privacy constraints, and the limited reach of logged‑in streaming data. Notable remarks highlight that a positive in‑store experience “makes their time valuable for the consumer, they will become an ambassador,” and that independent measurement—rather than media‑owned analytics—provides unbiased validation. Cuebiq’s approach of turning location signals into actionable assets and partnering with non‑biased measurement firms underscores this philosophy. The implication for marketers is clear: invest in location‑based data, prioritize independent, high‑integrity measurement, and integrate the entire funnel—from top‑of‑awareness to purchase—into a unified, AI‑enhanced framework. Doing so will unlock incremental impact, not just credited conversions, and sustain brand relevance in an increasingly fragmented media landscape.

Original Description

MIAMI, Fl. — The digital economy has spent two decades pulling consumer attention away from the physical world. Should brands with brick-and-mortar presence refocus on the time people actually spend inside their stores?

“If you think even your own experience, you visit a new place, whether is a restaurant or a store, when you have a good experience, you will talk about it,” said Guglielmino, CEO of Cuebiq, in this video interview with Beet.TV. “And there’s nothing more powerful than that in marketing.”

The argument cuts against an industry that has long been obsessed with digital signals, click-through rates, and last-touch attribution. Guglielmino’s case is that the physical visit – and what happens during it – remains an undervalued signal in the measurement stack.

The identity graph problem

Connecting a television ad exposure to a real-world store visit sounds straightforward in theory. In practice, it requires a chain of identity resolution that still has weak links. Guglielmino acknowledged the progress being made.

“At the core, the reliability of the system is the reliability of the identity graph that are really operating as the connecting tissues between a screen, a household, and their individuals and all the conversion that these individuals are making,” he said.

The challenge is one of extrapolation. Streaming platforms know who is logged in, but that logged-in universe represents only a fraction of total viewing traffic. Location data, similarly, captures only a sample of real-world movement. “You only see a sample of the population and then you have to extrapolate for all the rest,” Guglielmino said. “We still need to figure out how to properly extrapolate, but I think that by working with the highest quality data, cutting middlemen, and understanding how the sources work, you set up a data strategy for more success.”

The identity graph challenge is not unique to Cuebiq. The deprecation of third-party cookies, shifting privacy regulations, and fragmented data environments have made cross-channel attribution a persistent headache across the industry. Location intelligence, Guglielmino suggested, can help fill some of those gaps – particularly in anchoring household identity and digitizing out-of-home touchpoints – but it is not a wholesale fix.

Credit versus incrementality

Too many companies, Guglielmino argued, are focused on claiming credit for conversions rather than demonstrating incremental impact. “Everyone will be good in assigning themselves an organic visit or an organic action,” he said, “but what it really matters for the marketer is, is there a change in the behavior of the consumer?”

That framing has real consequences for how measurement vendors are selected and trusted. Guglielmino was pointed in his skepticism of media companies that bundle measurement with their own inventory sales. “What I really do not recommend is to work with media companies that are selling you the media and giving you the measurement tools because it’s not going to be agnostic,” he said. “It’s biased by design. The lion’s share of money is on the media, it’s not on the measurement.”

Cuebiq is a provider of location intelligence and consumer insights, specializing in analyzing real-world, offline behavior using anonymized, consented location data. It enables brands and marketers to track footfall attribution, measure the ROI of marketing campaigns, and target audiences based on their physical movements.

In March, Cuebiq announced a partnership with Affinity Solutions, combining Cuebiq’s location intelligence with transaction data to give brands a more complete view of how marketing activity translates into real consumer behavior – an attempt to link mid-funnel location signals with bottom-funnel purchase outcomes.