Comcast-owned women?s lifestyle news service DailyCandy is directing its New York fans to nearby shopping deals and events with a location-based alert system for the Android platform.

DailyCandy Stylish Alerts uses geofencing technology to notify  application users when they approach locations recently written about by the DailyCandy editorial team. The news service used the Xtify location-based notification platform to power the application.

?DailyCandy has been looking at mobile for quite some time, trying to figure what would be the best opportunity and provide the most value for our readers,? said Melanie Pitson, senior product manager at DailyCandy, New York. ?Xtify introduced us to this technology, and we thought it was a great way to get our content to subscribers.?

DailyCandy produces free, subscription-based email newsletters geared towards young women in several major United States cities.

The application is targeting all DailyCandy subscribers, who tend to be urban women ages 25-35 who fit an influencer profile.

How it works
When the application launches, it brings users to a list of recent DailyCandy content, arranged in reverse chronological order.

Here is a screen grab of the application?s home page:

Clicking on individual items brings users to the content on the DailyCandy Web site.

The geofencing technology runs in the background, even when users are not active in the application, and pushes out alerts when they approach locations written about in DailyCandy.

Here is a screen grab of a location-based alert in the DailyCandy application:

DailyCandy plans to integrate advertising into the application.

Brands will be able to participate multiple ways, including sponsoring the application and sponsoring individual notifications.

?If there?s a big sale on behalf of a big retailer or someone else in the area, as soon as you walk into the radius, you would get an alert on the phone with a coupon or something to draw you into the store,? Ms. Pitson said. ?That?s going to be the coolest new way for advertisers to reach this very engaged audience.?

Stylish Alerts is DailyCandy?s first mobile application. It was developed for the Android operating system because of that platform?s ability to run applications in the background.

DailyCandy plans to extend Stylish Alerts to other platforms, and will be launching versions of the application for more cities later this year.

?DailyCandy is a great example of a premier brand bringing additional value to their mobile audience,? said John Rochlin, CEO of Xtify, New York. ?DailyCandy leverages the Xtify technology to deliver timely and relevant content to their users.

?Similar opportunities exist for brands, retailers and publishers who want to deliver geo-specific content and promotions and drive traffic to local stores,? he said.

Geofencing gaining popularity
Geofencing technology is evolving rapidly and marketers who wish to use such location-based marketing strategies have a number of options open to them (see story).

Companies such as Sonic, REI and American Eagle have initiated geofencing campaigns with impressive results (see story).

DailyCandy said a geofencing-enabled application was a good fit for its brand because its content is already geared towards driving readers to locations.

?DailyCandy content has always been about being actionable,? Ms. Pitson said. ?We won?t write about something you can?t access at that moment.

?We?re very local, being in several cities in the U.S.,? she said. ?The alert system just made so much sense.?

Final Take
Peter Finocchiaro, editorial assistant at Mobile Marketer, New York

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