Location-Based Ads: What’s All The Hype About?
Mar 03 2011
-Julianna Karr
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As the mobile web continues to evolve, the door of opportunity remains open for interactive marketers. Analysts are already proposing companies will spend $1.8 billion dollars on strategies like location-based advertising by 2015; and with so many new ways of connecting consumers with their peers and places of interest, it is no surprise everyone is wondering what all the hype is about.
Research shows adoption levels for location-based services like Loopt, Foursquare and Gowalla, to be fairly low. However, the opportunity for growth is very promising thanks to the increasing number of smartphone users worldwide. According to the IDC Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, total smartphone sales for 2010 were close to 302.6 million, up 74% from 2009. With such an increase in smartphone sales, it makes sense location-based service users are projected to reach 486 million by 2012; A huge jump from 61.3 million in 2008.
In terms of location-based engagement, a survey done by the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) says nearly half of those who were surveyed responded favorably to location-based ads. Additional findings concluded that survey respondents use these services to frequently locate nearby points of interests, shops or services. In addition, 53% of mobile Wi-Fi users are interested in sharing their location automatically in exchange for perks, such as free use of mobile applications and mobile coupons.
So, how can location-based advertising work for you? Consider the following scenarios.
On any given night, a nearby Bar & Grill - within a 25 mile radius - could be featured in a mobile ad. Using these location-based ads, if you are the Bar & Grill owner, you could inform your patrons of that night’s drink specials, or offer them a free appetizer or even a discount on their meal. If you owned a car wash you could advertise weekly discounts, whether it be $2 off on Tuesdays, or a free car freshener with the purchase of your “deluxe car wash package.” To go even further, if you owned a nail salon you could offer your customers a free eyebrow wax with their purchase of a mani/pedi between 2:00 and 5:00 pm.
Whether it’s enjoy the “$1 beer on draft between 5 and 7” at the nearby Oceanside Bar & Grill, or getting pampered at the nail salon around the corner, one thing is for certain; if your customers are influenced by your mobile ad, and their experience is great, they’ll likely share their experience with their family and friends, maybe even via Facebook and Twitter.
What is more influential than “word of mouth” advertising? Not a thing. People will believe what their family and friends say, no questions asked, and they’ll remember it for a long, long time!
Julianna, a native of LaGrange, makes sure the creative wheels at Kelsey are always turning. She works with our account executives to schedule tasks and motivates our design and development team to get the job done. Can you say organized? She invented it. Juli likes to try new things and would much rather create her own path as opposed to following the crowd. She loves to laugh. She enjoys cooking, traveling, camping, and playing softball - we hear she’s quite competitive. In her free time, Juli can always be found spending time with her husband, David, and their daughter, Ayla.
