Analysis As geo-data and proximity marketing tools like beacons power advertising from mobile to IoT, DigitasLBi Head of Mobile Ilicco Elia spoke at Mobile World Congress on the evolution of location-based advertising. The tools associated with location-based advertising have become an essential part of sending “the right message to the right person at the right time.” Part of the challenge for agencies is how to respond to the increased demands for location technology to power ads from mobile devices to out-of-home billboards is figuring out what providers have the best data. The second challenge, as DigitasLBi Head of Mobile Ilicco Elia, in a conversation with Mediamath Product Strategy VP Michael Weaver at Mobile World Congress last week, is balancing the expertise of mobile and integrating it with other channels. It could be getting people at the store to complete a purchase via a store brand’s online channels as well. The mobile team is always involved because it is so central to whatever a client is likely to do. Understanding your history is more valuable than simply knowing your location right now. We did an interesting advertising campaign with Delta Airlines some years back. We used location-based data to determine who are loyalists of Delta Airlines. It’s likely you’re going to fly Delta. The billboard ads were placed based on location data from mobile phones that showed people living in a certain area and the location history knowing that they went to multiple terminals.
As geo-data and proximity marketing tools like beacons power advertising from mobile to IoT, DigitasLBi Head of Mobile Ilicco Elia spoke at Mobile World Congress on the evolution of location-based advertising.
The tools associated with location-based advertising have become an essential part of sending “the right message to the right person at the right time.”
Part of the challenge for agencies is how to respond to the increased demands for location technology to power ads from mobile devices to out-of-home billboards is figuring out what providers have the best data.
The second challenge, as DigitasLBi Head of Mobile Ilicco Elia, in a conversation with Mediamath Product Strategy VP Michael Weaver at Mobile World Congress last week, is balancing the expertise of mobile and integrating it with other channels.
Following his MWC appearance, we checked in on the approach to location-based marketing taken by Elia, who before arriving at DigitasLBi in 2011, helped chart Reuters’ interactive product and branding strategy over the course of 17 years.
GeoMarketing: In your Mobile World Congress discussion with Mediamath’s Michael Weaver, you set about “cracking the location-based marketing code.” What are you specifically looking to solve?
Ilicco Elia: There were a couple of themes we concentrated on. One thing we discussed was how brands are still desperate to get people in to stores.
I am still surprised that luxury brands, for example, have a target for in-store purchases as well as a target for on-line purchases. I would have thought they would have just wanted people to buy and not care whether it came from online or offline.
The challenge is how to get one channel to influence the purchase on another channel. It is not necessarily simply getting people online to go into a store. It could also be the other way around. It could be getting people at the store to complete a purchase via a store brand’s online channels as well.
The problem we have to solve is driving this seamless behavior between online and offline channels. That’s a big part of cracking the location-based marketing code.
Does that involve breaking down the silos between singular disciplines like mobile or desktop display or TV media buying and planning on the part of both the agency and the brand clients?
Well, I’m Head of Mobile, so it’s a bit weird for me to say “No, we don’t have to worry about [breaking down or maintaining silos].” If there is a Head of Mobile at a particular retailer, the problem we see is that it means the other channels do not take part in crafting a campaign that takes mobile elements into account because that means that someone else is taking care of it.
It is a fine line between this approach and integrating mobile specifically into other activities. I can say that having a Head of Mobile — or someone specifically in charge of a particular channel — allows you to concentrate on that specialty. The solution involves integrating that specialty alongside others and ensuring clear collaboration.
Is the idea for you that mobile is central, since it touches on so many other aspects of consumers’ lives, including social media? Ultimately, it’s about being mobile-centric, but not mobile-only, correct?
Exactly. And that is sort of a problem, because mobile is so central. Whenever I go on a pitch…
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