Google was right – you don’t need an app to find yourself

August 17, 2009

Tom Limongello is senior director of business development at Crisp Wireless

By Tom Limongello

Google made a splash at the Mobile Beat 2009 conference with the statement that it could not afford to customize experiences for all mobile devices.

After a good long hype cycle for mobile applications, Google is asking the world to have another look at the mobile browser. With the help of the Google Voice debacle last month (see story) and the Federal Communications Commission's subsequent inquiry (see story), the browser is looking more attractive again.

Google is pointing out that with the launch of the iPhone's 3.0 OS, which enabled the HTML 5 standard for Web development, many features once only available to applications are now available to the mobile browser. Now, if mobile Web developers make tweaks that leverage HTML 5, you can locate yourself.

However, when the economy is bad, the only innovation that really gets a long look is innovation related to advertising. People ask, "So, how's this whole mobile business ever going to make any money?" and such. To that we say, "Here, here. Google was right!"

Whichever side you choose in the Web versus applications debate for mobile, having location enabled on both is a good thing for reach and discovery.

It takes a company such as Google to point to where we are in a way that makes the market take notice. Quattro, AdMob and others enabled in-application location aware ads and now Crisp Wireless and PointRoll enable them in the browser.

Location in the browser is good news for publishers and marketers for two reasons:

First, locating yourself is now push-button on iPhone, Palm Pre and Android, so you no longer need to type in or know your current ZIP code to enable GPS location.

Second, if you do not like the app store discovery or approval processes, you have an alternative.

Location, location, location
Sales of mobile devices with integrated GPS are expected to grow to 720 million units in 2011.

The Kelsey Group estimates that local search advertising will grow to $1.28 billion by 2013, and these capabilities for open-location-based advertising beyond search are set to include national brand advertisers.

But who cares about 2013? Rather than pushpin the whole map, let us just talk about how marketers can get an edge in 2009.

Mobile as a marketing mindset is getting so big it is infiltrating laptops, and location-aware ads are the first chance for mobile marketing to wag the Web's tail.

You may have recently seen that Mozilla has enabled location for Firefox, likely in an attempt to catch the wave of netbook purchases in the past couple of years.

It is creative agencies' place here to step-up and offer an advertisement that is complemented with location, rather than wait for media buyers to say they have enough data to target via location.

Farther on up the road we will be able to leverage location data, but that could take years and cost millions of lives -- or it could just take Google, Foursquare or Loopt to provide a consistent presence where marketers can participate.

Now is the time for national brand advertisers who have enough geographic coverage to be able to target by time of day and use location as a lubricant to make the interaction easy and fun.

Here are some easy campaigns that can work today:

 Automotive companies can direct buyers to the closest dealer
 National retailers and food chains can drive foot traffic to their closest retail locations
 Movie studios can help their audience find the closest theater

Adding some creativity, you can drill into more local businesses.

For example, big companies that drive national loyalty programs such as airlines or American Express can tell users where their closest loyalty program partners are, which could even be restaurants that offer deals to cardholders.

But make no mistake, location-aware ads are right here, right now.

Tom Limongello is senior director of business development at Crisp Wireless, New York. Reach him at .

Comments on "Google was right – you don’t need an app to find yourself"

1. Joshua Schiffman says:

   August 17, 2009 at 4:18pm

   As both Tom and Lafayette mention above, the possibilities of location-aware promotions are endless.
   
   One traditional stumbling block (which Xtify has overcome) has been the ability to cost-effectively provide the location of a consumer all the time, whether or not they are using an application or service. We at Xtify are interested in going beyond traditional passive advertisements and banner ads towards proactive, location-relevant promotions.
   
   There is significant value for marketers and web application providers in having access to persistent location. Knowing where your customers were this morning, are right now, and where they will be tomorrow - while responsibly managing and protecting individual privacy - can be a marketers holy grail.
   
   We believe that marketers who take advantage of intelligent, informed, location-based promotional tools will have the competitive advantage in the future.
   
   Josh Schiffman - jschiffman@xtify.com

2. Lafayette Howell says:

   August 17, 2009 at 7:53am

   Terrific article about a few important topics. First, the whole app vs browser debate is more of a cost-benefit analysis, done nicely at www.mobiforge.com. As we launch our site and supporting mobile site, which is the real focus for us, it becomes a no-brainer for revenue generation over the long term, that the mobile browser experience is more effective.
   
   However, the examples you share tend to be fairly myopic as far as the examples of location-based campaigns go; most of these campaigns tend to be TXT or ads. I think there are significant opportunities far beyond the ones listed. What you will see at some point is aligning the "context of an individual situation" and thus target relevant help or services. For example, you live in Santa Barbara and experiencing the wildfires, and receive a TXT about an LA nightclub (the last thing you doing because you are looking for shelter. What about providing content on FEMA approved lodging to point people to. This is where we are taking things and can't wait to unveil our mobile site that provides this experience.
   
   Meanwhile, there are more relevant examples of services that people would pay for rather than the passive model of advertising. Just some thoughts to consider.