What Is Geo-Fencing?
Placecast's New Marketing Pitch
Most of us have heard about Geo-Fencing Technology used for security purposes that make sure children don't leave school before the end of the day, or to notify you when your car is leaving a designated area and may be being stolen. The broad definition of a "Geo-Fence" is a virtual border that surrounds an actual geographic area. Once a geo-fence is established, a location based service can send a notification through text or email when a specific device enters or exits the geo-fenced area.
Placecast and other location based mobile ad companies are taking geo-fencing to its natural commercial extension, by creating location based text message advertisements for businesses who would like to reach customers (who have, of course, chosen in advance to opt-in for the service) whenever they are close to a storefront or other designated area.
Placecast's marketing service is called ShopAlerts and works on any mobile phone, unlike many other mobile advertisement applications which work only on smart phones. Placecast will use either the phone's GPS signal, proximity to cell towers, or data purchased directly from carriers to pinpoint the location of a subscriber's cell phone. Consumers who opt in to Placecast's ShopAlerts service are able to pick their preferred brands out of a list of retailers who have constructed a customized version of the ShopAlerts service. Consumers don't have to go far to opt in to the service, either. This step can be taken at the store itself, online, through text message, or through social networking sites such as Facebook. Once the activation process is complete, whenever that consumer is near a location of one of their selected retailers, they are sent a text message alert.
The geo-fencing technology should be very helpful to businesses, which will be able to lure potential customers into stores with promises of discounts, promotions, or new inventory. Businesses also can use the technology to as a new way to strengthen their brand and communicate with customers, through branded informational texts that can be sent whenever an opted-in cell phone enters a corresponding geographical location. For example, Placecast client The North Face can text information about weather conditions whenever people enter certain hiking trails or national parks. While this might seem like a lot of texts, Placecast is aware of the potential of advertisements to overwhelm and annoy, so a maximum of only three texts are sent per week.
Even if the texts don't get people directly in the door, geo-fencing still works well from a marketing perspective. Companies which send useful texts, whether they are about sales or simply generally informative, will benefit from increased brand awareness and association with a specific location. ShopAlerts is easily integrated into existing marketing programs and calendars. Early pilot programs for the ShopAlert service were overwhelmingly successful with a vast majority of positive reviews from consumers. And while geo-fencing hasn’t quite yet caught on with most advertisers, interest is steadily building as more money is spent each year on interactive mobile advertising.
