Author: Stephen

Location-based marketing heats up with brewing rivalry

| December 30, 2012

land-based marketing social medial rivalryLocation-based marketing gains steam in social networking

Location-based marketing is heating up and social networking sites are leading the charge. Foursquare is one of the first social networking sites to offer “check-in” services, which allow users to inform their friends of the locations they visit throughout the day. Facebook recently adopted a similar service and both networking sites have found a significant amount of success with these services in the advertising space. This success has garnered the attention of Rich Gorman, an online marketing specialist and veritable celebrity in the advertising industry.

Facebook and Foursquare rivalry could be good for location-based marketing

Gorman notes that Foursquare has made significant advancements to its check-in service that offers users with local search options. This assists in discovering locations that would have otherwise gone unnoticed by consumers, thus directing business to small stores that typically see little traffic. Facebook itself has been working to expand its services in order to compete with Foursquare, hoping to make an impact in  the location-based marketing space.

Mobile technology provides advertisers with direct line to consumers

Location-based marketing is becoming exceedingly important as consumers become more mobile. The advent of mobile devices has taken consumers away from stationary computing and out into the world, presenting a promising opportunity for marketers to engage consumers in a more dynamic way. Mobile devices, such as smart phones and tablets, allow marketers to be in constant contact with consumers and location-based services are providing marketers with valuable geographic information that could be used to target very specific demographics.

Mobile marketing expected to heat up in 2013

Gorman notes that there seems to be a growing rivalry between Facebook and Foursquare. Gorman suggests that Foursquare has a significant head start over its potential competitor, but Facebook has a great deal of clout that will enable it to match the capabilities of Foursquare. Location-based marketing may gain more momentum in 2013, especially as the rivalry between Foursquare and Facebook takes off.

Proxama teams with Smartrac

| December 28, 2012

Proxoma teams with SmartracProxoma and Smartrac aim to take NFC marketing to the next level

Proxama, a provider of NFC and mobile marketing technology solutions, has announced its partnership with Smartrac, a developer and manufacturer of RFID transponders and inlays. Through this partnership, the two companies aim to showcase the potential of NFC technology in the marketing sector. The technology has long held promise for advertising, but has seen limited use over the years. NFC is most often used in mobile commerce as a way to facilitate mobile payments from smart phones and tablets.

New NFC marketing services coming to brands in 2013

Through this partnership, Proxama aims to work with several popular brands and advertising agencies beginning in 2013. Proxama believes that these brands and agencies could benefit from the use of NFC technology, as it will provide them with a way to engage consumers in an interactive fashion. Smartrac has been experiencing increasing demand for NFC technology solutions from its customers and is eager to begin developing such solutions.

Proxama leverages experience to provide new services

Proxama already has a wealth of experience in using NFC as a mobile marketing tool. The company is expected to leverage this experience to provide brands with powerful solutions that could produce promising engagement opportunities with consumers. Through its partnership with Smartrac, Proxoma aims to provide retailers, advertisers, and media owners with the tools they need to develop dynamic NFC-based marketing campaigns. While such campaigns have been used by major brands in the past, such as 20th Century Fox, NFC-based marketing can often be a hit-or-miss issue.

Lack of NFC-enabled devices may be problematic for some

In order for consumers to interact with NFC marketing campaigns, they must have an NFC-enabled mobile device. These devices are equipped with NFC chips that can decipher the information contained within NFC-based marketing materials. Currently, these phones are somewhat rare, but device manufacturers are working to remedy this issue. With the scarcity of NFC-enabled mobile devices, it is difficult to say for certain whether NFC marketing will be able to provide brands with the reach they need to connect with mobile consumers.