Location Based Context, Not Location Based Advertising

Posted By PlacePlay on May 11, 2012

The original goal of PlacePlay was to provide iOS and Android app developers with an SDK to make their games location enabled, not location based.  The key difference here, from a game perspective, is location based mobile games require location in order to play the game; location enabled games use location to add fun.  Simply: location only vs. location additional.

As we have shifted our focus towards in-app mobile advertising, geo-targeted mobile advertising specifically, we see a theme emerging: people don’t understand the true value of location data in mobile advertising, or, more likely, they are ignoring it for reasons we discussed here.

The biggest benefit of location data is NOT in the ability to serve a mobile ad for what’s around a consumer: the biggest benefit is the ability to use location data to derive context.  Location only vs. location additional, again.

First of all, understanding context from a limited set of data isn’t easy and we will never be 100% accurate.  That’s OK.

Real-time location data combined with parameters like time stamp, app session duration, et al tell us really specific things about an ad request and help us determine the most relevant mobile ad to serve in response.  Here’s a really simple example (this is uber simple – so, grain of salt):

If a consumer at a varying lat/long engages with an app for 20-30 minutes between 6:30 am and 9:00 am we can reasonably assume that they are in transit to school or work.  Given that they are utilizing their mobile app for 20-30 minutes we can further assume they are passively consuming content – ie, they are more likely to engage with advertising.

With data that shows a moving location, time stamp, and session time we are able to provide much better targeting – and the knowledge that they are more likely to engage with advertising, we can source not only the most relevant, but the highest paying, mobile ad.

That’s a win for the consumer, the advertiser, and the developer.

Users are shifting to mobile apps as their primary method for content consumption and mobile advertising networks, advertisers, and publishers have a unique opportunity to connect with consumers in meaningful ways that are unavailable in traditional advertising channels.  Location data can help us understand the context necessary to make those unique connections a reality.

Did you enjoy this post? Maybe your social networks will too!