James Mullany Talks to GeoMarketing About Location Data

While advertisers are increasingly embracing location data as a marketing tool, there is still more they could be doing, says James Mullany, senior analyst-performance media and partnerships at Beeby Clark+Meyler, in an interview with GeoMarketing.com. Says Mullany: “Too often, the geo-targeting capability of a media vendor is limited to ZIP code targeting.

While ZIP code targeting is a start in the right direction, there are ways to get even more targeted with location data. ….For example, location-based data can be accessed via check-in information from Yelp, Foursquare and Facebook.  There are also companies that are focused on attaining location-based data via less consumer-facing approaches, such as fingerprinting.  Fingerprinting overcomes the mobile cookie dilemma and looks at the characteristics of IP and location information to associate a user within a certain geo-fence.” Asked whether  the decision to use location as a determining factor in a media play is ultimately a question of scale, Mullany says no.  “For us, if the plan works, it works and that’s the same if you’re spending $10,000, or a hundred times that. …Mobile traffic and revenue shares have grown drastically over the past 5 years; scale is no longer an issue.

The majority of consumers that our clients want to do business with are on a smartphone already and the majority of them are already using location services.” Of course, it is important to ensure that the chosen location solution aligns with a marketer’s objectives, which is something we work closely with the client on at BCM. “For example, if you’re looking to pinpoint a user within a location such as a building or a stadium, that requires a very different approach from targeting users within a ZIP code,” says Mullany. Read the full interview here.