Gurbaksh Chahal | Big Idea 2014: Geo-Targeting Is Everywhere

Mobile phones have quickly become the remote controls to our daily lives. Next year brands will begin utilizing location-based data to more effectively reach consumers and successfully convert customers across the web and mobile. eMarketer estimates that mobile ad spend will spike from $8.4 billion in 2012 to $37 billion in 2016. But in order for the marketing community, which is presently flooded with optimistic predictions, to continue investing in the mobile channel, the return on this investment needs to focus on bridging the gap between mobile and desktop advertising – and geo-location is the key.
Mobile as a platform has the inherent advantage of location-based services that are able to pinpoint a consumer as they traverse the globe launching apps, checking in and shopping at retailers of choice. Geo-location information provides brands with valuable data about people’s consumer behavior and when merged with desktop and mobile display datasets and amplified by programmatic approaches, it can help drive both online and in-store purchases through targeted and personalized advertising campaigns.
Just imagine being able to deliver location-specific ads to a consumer who is one block away from a Neiman Marcus store after they visited the online Neiman Marcus store just last week. This powerful form of retargeting will provide sales promotions to the people who have already indicated interest in a brand online.
We are one step further to bridging online advertising with geo-location targeting through mobile devices with Apple’s launch of iBeacon earlier this year into iOS7. While location ad targeting is certainly the next big thing, technologies like iBeacon will help make it more accurate by allowing brick-and-mortar retailers to send personalized mobile offers to people who walk through their doors, allowing them to be guided through the store to the items they would like to purchase. Right now, through intelligent mobile software (which

Gurbaksh Chahal

Chairman & CEO, ProcureNet | Founder, Chahal Foundation | 3 Exits $400MM+ | 4X Entrepreneur | Author | Guest Lecturer |Hong Kong | Bay Area

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