Location-based advertising sometimes comes up short - here's why

Marketing departments rely on location-based advertising to provide mobile devices with customized suggestions. Geospatial marketing enhances campaign accuracy and return on investment, enriches the consumer experience, and gives companies a way to gauge performance, provided that its data is correct.

Agencies from all industries are giving brick-and-mortar consumers the chance to compete in a market that is increasingly dominated by e-commerce by unlocking these advantages. Businesses are investing significantly in mobile advertising; according to some predictions, the US total will reach $137 billion in the  reporting for 2022.

The issue is that mobile marketing frequently misses the point by providing timely content to the incorrect prospects or badly timed content to the appropriate prospects. These inefficiencies are frequently brought on by inaccurate geographic data, which wastes money, has low returns, and leaves market share opportunities unrealized.

Marketers and their customers must become familiar with geospatial data and how it may either support or undermine advertising efforts if they want to stay competitive. Let's explore how this data might benefit campaigns, what can go wrong with location-driven marketing, and how to prevent these issues.

How location-based information can support marketing campaigns

Marketers and their customers have access to competitor analysis about consumer behavior and market trends thanks to location data. Different data types provide various insights. For example, mobility data may reveal where customers buy, where they are traveling from, and how long they spend in a given value. Data on points of interest (POIs) might provide a more comprehensive picture of how complementary establishments (like a sportswear shop next to a gym) influence foot traffic and sales.

Marketers may take advantage of strategies like mobile and geotargeting, geofencing and geo-conquesting, or beacon and proximity marketing thanks to this information.

Let's imagine that our brick and mortar chain of athletic stores wants to employ geofencing to target gym visitors. The corporation uses POI data to better understand the locations of gyms in relation to its store locations. Building footprints are physically mapped following the gathering of basic POI data. As a result, a data polygon is formed around the gym that serves as a border for displaying customized adverts and immediately generates impressions that are appropriate.

Marketing professionals and their clients may support digital advertising, boost sales, and enhance measurement by getting geometry and mobile attribution data correct. For instance, the mom-and-pop sportswear business may persuade an audience to purchase locally rather than placing an order through a major brand's website with the use of a location-savvy promotional campaign.

Where geographical advertising fails

Geospatial ad rollouts may be profitable in certain cases but costly and devastating in others. According to some estimates, mistargeting wastes about 65 percent of funds spent on location-based advertising. To stop it, marketers must understand how bad targeting occurs.

The location data utilized in a mobile campaign must be reliable in order to be effective. Given the granularity of geographical mistakes, it might be challenging to guarantee this. For instance, it's possible that an advertisement directs people to the "right" gym in the incorrect city. Or, suppose a separate advertisement is sent to the proper gym, but the boundary of the applicable polygon is 10 feet farther. Targeted members may have already put their gadgets in their lockers by this point.

These kinds of problems frequently have their origins in disorganized, gaping databases. Occasionally, latitude and longitude coordinates may be shortened or inverted, causing advertisements to be delivered in the middle of the ocean rather than in a thriving urban center. Other times, POI information may simply be incorrect, out-of-date, or lacking important details like working hours. This may cause marketers to decide incorrectly regarding a campaign, which they might not realize until it's too late. Additionally, employing erroneous data not only results in upfront costs but also puts advertising firms and their clients at risk for fraud.

How to avoid data pitfalls and design successful geospatial campaigns

Marketers should verify the validity of their delivery metrics and any location data they utilize to avoid problems with data quality. This can be carried either internally or in cooperation with a third-party supplier, who has probably confirmed the accuracy of its data. Whatever the method, organizations must be able to demonstrate how and with what results they are using their geographic datasets.

Finally, keep in mind that a good ad campaign requires more than just geographical data. Weather, time, purchase intent, and CRM data are some other datasets that may be operationalized. Marketing professionals may help their clients succeed by identifying and interacting with the ideal audience and acting on the hybrid insights that these extra technologies unleash.