Tag: geolocation technology

Study shows advertisers are shifting focus on mobile marketing

A new study from the Association of National Advertisers and MediaVest, a leading media specialist agency, shows that the majority of the marketing industry is beginning to focus more heavily on the mobile space. Mobile marketing is becoming a very important aspect of advertising, due to the large number of mobile consumers there are in any given market. The study draws upon information gathered from 68 client-side marketers, many of whom are members of  the Association of National Advertisers, during the fourth quarter of 2012.

Majority of advertisers working to engage mobile consumers

According to the study, 85% of advertising firms plan to significantly increase their mobile budgets in the very near future. These firms are expected to focus more intently on engaging consumers through various mobile marketing initiatives. Many of the brands that these firm represent have expressed interest in such mobile marketing initiatives, leading advertisers to develop strategies that will take advantage of the growing number of mobile consumers.

Location-based marketing gains momentum

Location-based marketing, or geomarketing, is expected to be one of the major priorities that advertisers have in the future. Location-based marketing is becoming increasingly important for local brands that do not have access to the same resources that large companies do. Advertisers using location-based services, especially those associated with social media networks, can develop hyper-localized marketing campaigns that have, in the past, proven very successful among their targeted demographic.

Some marketers worried over the feasibility of mobile marketing

The study shows that 42% of advertisers are have concerns regarding mobile metrics and tracking system. Without adequate metrics in place, being able to fashion a comprehensive marketing campaign is a significantly more difficult task. These marketers have also cited their inability to prove any feasible return on investment as a major roadblock toward their adoption of mobile marketing. Nonetheless, the vast majority of advertisers are convinced over the potential prospects of mobile marketing and what gains they may see through its use.

The think tank has raised considerable concerns regarding consumer safety and security.

In 2012, a geolocation privacy bill by Senator Al Franken (D-Minnesota) was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee, in order to provide the users of smartphones with a greater degree of control over the way that their data is controlled.

However, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation feels this legislation is problematic.

The law that was proposed would make it necessary for app developers to require users to specifically opt in to programs that would allow for the collection or disclosure of geolocation data. It would no longer be permitted for apps to automatically select that option, so that users would need to actively opt out if they did not wish to share their information in that way.

The geolocation data was not being protected by the companies that collected it, said Franken.

According to the senator, the “Companies that collect our location information are not protecting it the way they should.” At that time, he made reference to a number of errors and blunders regarding privacy, which had drawn considerable media attention. This included reports that Android and iPhone devices were sending the geolocation data of their users to Google and Apple.

Not to mention the CarrierIQ fiasco. That company was a part of a high profile discovery in 2011, when the researcher demonstrated that its software was capable of logging the keystrokes that were made on smartphones.

While it is Franken’s intention to reintroduce the geolocation privacy bill in 2013, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), a think tank, is openly arguing that this proposed law may not encourage positive changes. In fact, it called the legislation “particularly problematic for apps that are supported by location-based advertising.”

It explained that the bill, which was designed to protect a user’s privacy in the face of geolocation technology and use, would require a user to have to give consent every time the app intends to work with a new ad network. This, they say, would generate awkward consumer notices. The think tank’s behaviors in the past have not indicated that they are adverse to advertising techniques such as pop-ups, which they recently used to state that they were rejecting do-not-track requests.