Comprehensive Guide to Geofencing Marketing Using Programmatic Display Advertising with Thumbvista
1. Introduction to Geofencing Marketing and Programmatic Display Advertising
Geofencing is a powerful location-based technology that enables businesses to define virtual perimeters or “geofences” around specific geographic areas. When users with mobile devices enter or exit these geofenced zones, they can be targeted with customized ads or other relevant content. This technology is highly effective for local businesses, event marketers, and brands looking to engage customers based on their physical location.
Programmatic display advertising automates the process of buying and selling online ad space in real-time. By leveraging algorithms and data, programmatic advertising ensures that ads reach the right audience at the right moment, enhancing the precision and efficiency of marketing campaigns.
When combined, geofencing and programmatic display advertising create a powerful marketing strategy that delivers hyper-targeted ads to potential customers based on their exact location. This combination can significantly boost engagement, drive foot traffic, and increase conversions.
2. Why Thumbvista for Geofencing?
Thumbvista is a leader in mobile marketing, specializing in geofencing and programmatic media buying. Here’s why Thumbvista is the best choice for geofencing campaigns:
- Precision Targeting: Thumbvista’s geofencing marketing technology services is highly accurate, allowing businesses to target users with pinpoint precision. For example, a retail chain can geofence multiple store locations, ensuring that only users within close proximity receive ads for in-store promotions.
- Comprehensive Solutions: Thumbvista offers end-to-end services, from setting up geofences to creating compelling ad creatives and analyzing campaign performance. This means you can rely on Thumbvista for every aspect of your geofencing marketing campaign.
- Proven Success: Thumbvista has a track record since 2012 of successful campaigns across various industries.
3. How Geofencing Works
Geofencing marketing utilizes technologies like GPS, Wi-Fi, and cellular data to establish a virtual boundary around a specific location. Then the lat/long request in made as a filter on programmatic display buying request through a demand side platform. Here’s how it works:
Steps Involved:
- Define the Geofence: Choose the area you want to target. For example, a car dealership might geofence competitor locations to target potential buyers with special offers when they visit those locations.
- Target Audience Identification: Determine who you want to reach within the geofenced area. This could include demographic criteria like age, gender, and income, or behavioral data like past purchases. Thumbvista’s services allows you to segment audiences with great detail.
- Ad Delivery: Once a user enters the geofenced area, a real-time ad is delivered to their device via mobile apps, websites. For instance, a user might receive an offer for a free coffee when they pass by a café within the geofence.
- Action Tracking: After the ad is delivered, Thumbvista’s platform tracks user interactions, such as clicks, website visits, and in-store purchases, to measure campaign effectiveness.
4. Setting Up Geofencing with Thumbvista
1. Defining Your Geofence:
- Geographic Area: With Thumbvista, you can create highly precise geofences, even down to the level of individual stores or event venues. For example, a clothing retailer might geofence shopping malls across different cities to promote seasonal sales.
- Radius: The size of your geofence can range from a narrow meter radius to several miles, depending on your goals. A sports arena might use a wide geofence to attract fans to nearby restaurants before or after a game.
- Multiple Locations: Thumbvista allows you to geofence multiple locations simultaneously, making it ideal for businesses with multiple outlets. For instance, a grocery chain could geofence all its stores nationwide to promote a weekly sale.
2. Choosing the Right Audience:
- Demographics: Define your audience by age, gender, income level, and other demographic factors. A high-end brand might target affluent customers within a geofence display ads around luxury malls.
- Behavioral Data: Utilize past behavior data, such as prior purchases or website visits, to refine your audience. For example, a fitness center might target users who have previously visited health-related websites or apps.
- Device Targeting: Customize your ads for specific devices, like smartphones or tablets, to optimize user engagement. This ensures that your ad appears seamlessly, regardless of the device being used.
3. Creative Design and Messaging:
- Ad Creatives: Thumbvista helps you design visually appealing ads that resonate with your target audience. For instance, a local pizzeria could use mouth-watering images of their pizza to entice nearby users to order.
- Personalized Messaging: Leverage the location data from geofencing to deliver personalized messages. For example, a retail store could send personalized discount codes to shoppers as they are in the area around the store, encouraging immediate visits.
- Call to Action (CTA): Your ads should include a clear and compelling CTA, urging users to take action. For example, “Visit us now for a 20% discount!” can drive immediate foot traffic to your store.
5. Best Practices for Programmatic Display Advertising with Geofencing
1. Targeting and Retargeting:
- Precise Targeting: Use Thumbvista’s advanced geofencing marketing tools to create highly specific geofences. A university might target students on campus with ads for local businesses that offer student discounts.
- Retargeting: Implement retargeting strategies to re-engage users who have interacted with your ads. For instance, an auto dealership could retarget users who visited a competitor’s location with follow-up offers.
2. Timing and Frequency:
- Optimal Timing: Schedule your ads to appear when users are most likely to engage. A coffee shop might schedule ads for the morning rush hour to attract commuters.
- Frequency Capping: To avoid ad fatigue, Thumbvista allows you to set frequency caps, ensuring users don’t see your ad too many times. This helps maintain a positive user experience.
3. Compliance and Privacy:
- Adhering to Regulations: Thumbvista ensures that your geofencing marketing campaigns comply with local and international privacy laws, such as GDPR or CCPA. This is crucial for maintaining user trust and avoiding legal issues.
- User Consent: Thumbvista helps you obtain explicit consent from users for location data collection, ensuring transparency and compliance with privacy regulations.
6. Measuring Success: Analytics and Optimization
1. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):
- Impressions and Click-Through Rate (CTR): Track how often your ads are viewed and clicked by users within the geofence.
- Conversion Rate: Measure the percentage of users who take the desired action after viewing your ad, such as making a purchase or visiting your store. For instance, a campaign might track how many users redeem a geofenced coupon.
- Return on Ad Spend (ROAS): Calculate the revenue generated from your geofencing campaign compared to the cost of running the ads. A Thumbvista campaign helped for a recruiting campaign by targeting users near competitor locations.
2. A/B Testing and Optimization:
- A/B Testing: Test different ad creatives, messaging, and targeting strategies to determine what works best. Thumbvista’s platform allows for easy A/B testing to optimize your campaigns. For example, testing two different ad designs can reveal which one drives more engagement.
- Continuous Optimization: Use the insights from A/B testing and performance metrics to refine and improve your geofencing campaigns continuously. This might involve tweaking the geofence size, adjusting the timing, or modifying the ad creatives based on performance data.
7. Case Studies and Examples
Example 1: A regional smartphone retailer used Thumbvista’s geofencing marketing services to target shoppers at nearby malls during the holiday season. The campaign resulted in a 21 day run with over 1.8 million impressions and 4628 clicks. See more details.
Example 2: A national restaurant chain geofenced competitor locations to attract diners with special offers. The campaign saw the campaign with over 30 users linking for app downloads demonstrating the effectiveness of Thumbvista’s geofencing technology. See the restaurant study here.
Example 3: A car dealership targeted potential buyers visiting competitor lots with personalized offers. This led to in over 8 weeks over 300,000 times and had nearly 700 additional actions. Car Dealer Case Study
8. Pricing
Display ads are typical ran on a cost per thousand or CPM pricing model. The price of a geofencing marketing campaign varies base on the following factors;
- Self-service or managed
- Buying in bulk
- Direct buying for up stream source, meaning cutting out some of the reseller fees.
- Extra data needed
Conclusion
Geofencing, combined with programmatic display advertising, offers an unparalleled opportunity to connect with your audience based on their physical location. By delivering highly targeted and relevant ads, businesses can drive foot traffic, increase sales, and build stronger customer relationships.