4 Trends That Will Drive Location-based Advertising In The Next 3 Years

A Head-Start to Leverage on the True Impact & Usability of Location Intelligence

If your marketing campaign's performance & results are anything to go by, we can safely say that we have only scratched the surface of the vast potential location-based advertising holds for brands and marketers. To date, a significant portion of digital and location-based advertising has been driven by the marketing mavericks and early adopters. But we are seeing more and more marketing dollars being directed into these formats of advertising in order to capture the mindshare of connected consumers. With this, marketers' will expect better use of data and stronger measurement frameworks to achieve higher ROI.

These are the trends that will drive not only the adoption but also the next level of impact from location-based advertising in the next three years.

1. Marketers Will Demand More Transparency and Measurable ROI

Transparency and view-ability are challenges that most brand marketers are already grappling with. But agencies and location intelligence companies have so far been unable to address this need. Moving forward, marketers will not only demand transparency, they will also want to know how the data is being collected, how it is being verified, and the actual store-level impact the marketing dollars is driving.

Location-based advertising will need to open up and become more transparent. Marketers now understand that transparency helps them gauge the accuracy and precision of data that is driving their marketing decisions. The demand is not going away any time soon. And the sooner both agencies and location intelligence companies put this expectation at the core of campaign- and product-development, the sooner the industry itself will mature and become the new norm for marketers.

2. Predictive Analytics Will Become the Lowest Common Denominator

Location-based offers are old news now. The market will see AI and predictive analytics take personalization to the next level. Predictive analytics will help marketers and agencies forecast consumers' locations and send contextual and personalized offers based on daily routines of consumers. But more than that, predictive analytics will also help marketers send offers based on consumers' overall lifestyle and related needs.

Over the coming years, predictive analytics will allow marketers to forecast consumers' locations based on their lifestyle, routine, and behavioural patterns, and serve deals and offers accordingly.

3. Enter Micro-Location Targeting Devices

Micro-targeting devices placed in retail locations such as malls, can provide retailers with in-depth view into how customers shop by tracking foot traffic. They allow retailers to spot precisely where customers are located in the store or mall in the exact moment. This, in turn, allows advertisers to send out timely offers and deals to customers. These resourceful devices have raised the game for in-store, location-based advertising.

That being said, this technology became part of location-based marketing radar almost two years ago. But access to the technology itself was just half the battle. The real challenge was to have skilled resources and sufficient app downloads to actually make this technology impactful.

The next step is to marry the data with other technologies and data sources. Tools like geo-fencing, in-store Wi-Fi, RFID etc will enable a 360-degree view into the customers' journey. Location advertising tools and companies will need to take this into account. With LifeSight, we are already delivering this to customers with some incredible impact to their location-based advertising investment, precision, and ROI.

4. Relationship Marketing Will Help Brands Break the Clutter

Marketing has always been about finding ways for customers to like your brand, be loyal, and have long term relationships with your brand. These engaged, loyal, happy consumers are the ones that differentiate the market leaders.

Relationship marketing has always been important. But with more and more brands – both online and offline – vying for consumers' attention, relationship marketing can help brands break the clutter and gain an edge over competition. This is where personalized, data driven marketing becomes important. Brands will want to leverage location-based marketing not only for short-term customer acquisition but to encourage long-term loyalty.

Increasingly, brands will look not only for consumers but for brand advocates. Consumers too are ready for personalized buying experiences, with promotions and offers custom-designed for their individual needs. Location-based advertising will lead this charge. Location data, customer segmentation, and predictive analytics will have to come together to ensure that every loyalty reward, every offer is custom-built and deeply engaging and effective for each consumer.

Looking Ahead

Clearly, the work is cut out for both location-intelligence companies as well as for brand marketers, agencies, and advertisers. With LifeSight, we are already ahead of the curve as far as the true impact and usability of location intelligence is concerned.