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Mobile is opening the new window of opportunity to age old location tactics

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By Theo Theodorou | general manager, EMEA

September 23, 2016 | 4 min read

I read an article on The Drum this week, describing New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s activation of a location based messaging system in order to quickly distribute digital message relating to suspects in the Manhattan and New Jersey bombings. The result, partly because of these digital ‘wanted’ posters, was the person in question was in custody within 50 hours.

Theo Theodorou

Theo Theodorou

Let’s not beat around the bush here; location messaging is a powerful tool. It has always been a powerful tool, and existed in a static form for hundreds of years – from shop windows, to tube posters, to now the big digital billboards we see all over the world today. Location messages give the ability to crack the ‘right place’ element of the old ‘right person, right time…’ marketing formula, whether that’s to convey a message of gravitas or to the consumer when their mindset is in a specific place within the path to purchase. Mobile simply reflects a new window of location specific opportunities, with the benefit of greater targeting precision and timing.

The example we saw in New York, according to de Blasio, was ‘a modern approach that really engaged the whole community’. He went on to say ‘It’s that sense of shared responsibility. If we can get everybody in the city engaged in helping us keep it safe, this is the way to go’.

I agree. We, as in xAd agree. Location can, and should, be used for good. Now more than ever, businesses have a responsibility to ensure that they are involved in charitable and worthy practises. That’s exactly why xAd launched our ‘Location for Good’ corporate social responsibility programme, whereby we look for ways to use our location technology to improve the world around us, whether that’s through fundraising or for serious urgent situations where time is of the essence.

One such example is Amber Alerts, where xAd partnered with the Federation for Internet Alerts (FIA) to deliver messages quickly when a child abduction takes place. This project leverages our location technology to push a dynamic message to a mobile, meaning that we are able to update information automatically, such as a picture of the child, an ‘area last seen’, or a car registration. When a child goes missing, every second and every pair of eyes count, which is why geographically focused mobile alerts are so powerful.

But it’s not only FIA we’ve partnered with. We have also worked with other charities such as Oxfam after the Nepal earthquake, Movember in the UK, and most recently directly with The Drum. This year, we are excited to be involved across both sides of the Atlantic, as a partner in their ‘Plan It Day’ and ‘Do It Day’ initiatives.

Location for good is focused on our CSR projects, and when it is done right, it truly helps employ good and best business practises for brands. Yes, it can help brands reach people in a specific place in those moments that matter, but it can also help them uncover what marketing tactics (and therefore spend) are working by giving them the ability to directly attribute marketing spend between the online ads and offline behaviour. And we’re fast moving into the next era of location, the one of location intelligence, whereby brands with a physical world presence can understand more about their audience.

Location is a powerful tool. It helps people, and businesses to do better. And that is something that the marketing community should be a part of.

Theo Theodorou is GM EMEA at xAd

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