Mobile Targeting Better Be Missile Accurate, Hitting the Right “Spot”

We are clearly a mobile-centric society. As a result, the excessive use of mobile devices has led to a major increase in mobile app usage. Apps no longer are just a source of entertainment and games. They are used for communication, information, convenience and nearly everything. By 2024, apps are expected to eclipse 184 billion downloads, according to Statista.

All this app usage has created an environment where people are constantly checking their phone. 51% of people check their apps up to 10 times a day and 25% say they do it up to 20 times a day. (The Manifest). Marketers understand that this increase in views means a lot more “eyeballs” and are always looking to find unique opportunities to deploy their messages where they may be seen. Since consumers want, and frankly expect any advertising and messaging to be personalized and non-disruptive, marketers must be very creative when reaching them through apps and mobile devices.

That’s where Location Based Advertising (LBA) comes in. LBA allows for marketers to target consumers with relevant and personalized offers and messages based on their physical location. Since LBA works based on knowing a consumer’s location and their behavior, marketers can more effectively tap into their habits and shopping patterns and create offers and ads encouraging the consumer to visit their locations both on and offline. Marketers can base their messaging on locations, routes, weather, and behavioral patterns. According to advertising industry forecasts, LBA will continue to grow and is set to surpass $32 billion dollars in media spend by the end of 2023. (Statista).

One of the most popular location-based marketing technologies being used now is Geofencing. This marketing feature uses software programs to define geographical boundaries (in many cases using Google Earth) that leverage live location data to trigger mobile alerts. Developers can integrate the geofencing API or SDK with an existing application or software. By tracking a consumer’s location through GPS, RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), Bluetooth, and beacons, messages are transmitted to consumers, so they receive custom messaging based on the location of their mobile device. Geofenced messages can be targeted to a whole city or the perimeter of the pavement in front of a specific location. Ads can be sent as text messages, in-app notifications, and even social media ads.

There are many benefits that come along with geofenced messaging. The first is obviously better targeting. Geofencing is the epitome of delivering “the right message, to the right user at the right time”. This technology allows for the message to be delivered to a specific geographic area, as well as filtering that area by specific targeted criteria.

Another great benefit to geofencing is cost savings. Rather than investing advertising dollars to reach everyone, this type of targeting allows for little to no waste. The marketer knows that the message is only being delivered to an audience based on, not simply interest, but also proximity. This helps to increase response and ROI which makes it a very wise investment.

There is also a wonderful competitive advantage that can be worked into the equation. In addition to geofencing a message around your own specific location to draw consumer attention to you, there is the option to message them based on their proximity to a competitor to draw their attention away from them.

And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the amount of data that is being accumulated from geofencing. This data is more than just the knowing the effectiveness of a message based on clicks, views, or immediate adjacent sales. It’s understanding which locations are over performing and the under performers. It’s also extremely helpful determining which creative styling and messaging may work better than another. What traffic patterns look like for those who are near your locations and even how long consumers stay in a specific area. You can even evaluate trends that may change during the actual campaign. Each of these pieces provides key information that can be used for future campaign messaging.

Location-based marketing and geofenced messaging is highly relevant because it gives you the opportunity to reach out to people with the right content at the right time. And lucky for you, consumers, so far, like the personalized customer experience it gives them. Layering in geofenced targeted advertising really is a winner for you and the consumer.

As clients utilize more digital advertising, they need an agency that knows how to navigate the digital waters. With more than two hundred credible data providers covering more than 40,000 distinguishing categories, geofencing being only one of them, you’ll need an agency who knows which “data bait” is going to be the best utilized to hook client’s customers. It’s art and science.