Mobile Advertisers Forecast to Spend $1.8 Billion on Location-Based Campaigns in 2015

Location-based advertising is still in its infancy, but according to a new study from ABI Research, businesses are primed to spend $1.8 billion on it in 2015 as part of their overall mobile marketing budgets.
�It�s still early days and there�s no single �right� approach to location-based advertising,� says practice director Neil Strother. �This remains a very fragmented market that is full of experimentation.�

Nonetheless, the options are becoming more clearly defined. Location-based ads are enabled by three sets of technologies: GPS, Wi-Fi, and Cell-ID (location determined relative to mobile phone transmitters.) The most successful campaigns use a mix of some or all of these, depending on the product or service, the region, the consumers, and the location accuracy required.

New location-based services are springing up, catering to mobile shoppers. Some are �check-in� services such as Loopt, Gowalla, Foursquare, and Facebook with its Places, for consumers who are willing to �self-identify.� Others, such as Shopkick, use an iPhone app to reward shoppers just for visiting certain stores.

But do people really want to be tracked? �Some might be put off by the �Big Brother� aspects of this,� says Strother, �but it�s really about the value-exchange: if you care about getting discounts or being rewarded for shopping, is the value-exchange high enough so that you�ll accept having your whereabouts known to these companies in return for the benefits?�

How should a retailer begin? Strother lays out a step-by-step guide for the would-be location-based advertiser in the report. The main points:

Establish your marketing goals, as with any other marketing campaign
Analyze your customers� mobile and location habits and develop your location approach
Choose location partner(s) and determine the best technologies for your brand
Execute your geo-targeted campaign, measure the results, and refine

ABI Research�s �Location-Based Marketing� examines the current dynamics of the mobile location-based advertising market: drivers, inhibitors, key players and forecasts. It profiles consumers' opinions, and includes case studies and a step-by-step guide.