IFD, Vicinity Media launch cost-effective location-based mobile advertising

“Location based advertising (LBA) allows companies to adjust their marketing messages to suit a number of specific scenarios,” says Dennis Armstrong, MD of Interface Digital. “Not only are they able to geographically target customers (down to street level), but their marketing can also be adjusted dynamically to suit variables such as a specific time of day or prevailing weather conditions.”

How it works

“Imagine an invisible fence (e.g. 5km) setup around your location or destination,” says Charles Talbot, Vicinity Media’s chief of publisher development. “We then serve mobile ads across our partner publisher network that includes most major sports, news and entertainment titles in South Africa. Any person browsing those channels within the geo-fenced area will then be able to view and respond to the marketing served.”

• You own a hardware store and want to run a Saturday DIY special on tiles, specifically targeting individuals (within a desired radius of your store).
  
• The campaign would target mobile users who are viewing content relating to home improvement, interior design, flooring and relevant topics of that nature.
  
• You will then serve your advertisement, offering (for example) 15% discount on all tiles and/or other products that specific day, and provide the viewer with a unique promo code or voucher they can use at your store.
  
• The ad further provides you location, contact details, map and estimated travelling time - depending if the client walks or drives.

“Obviously the point of any digital marketing is the ability to accurately track and measure campaign performance. Through our partners, Interface Digital, clients will receive detailed reports providing accurate data on each interaction and option taken by their customers, allowing for additional campaign optimisation and increased ROI over the duration of their campaign.”

“Knowing where your customers are and how they behave (based on their online activity), allows you to serve the most relevant marketing messages, at the right time and place,” adds IFD’s Dennis Armstrong. “Mobile location-based marketing is effective, because you can personalise your content and target people who are most likely to convert into paying customers. Combine that with the special introductory rates we are now offering and businesses have a real opportunity to significantly increase their return on marketing investment this summer.”