Geo Fencing Vs Geo Aware Vs Geo Location

One of the key reasons as to why all the big advertisers worldwide are pumping huge sums of money in the Mobile space is due to strong targeting options offered by the digital agencies &/or publishers & ad-networks. As a media professional, if today you wish to join Mobile Advertising Industry, one of the key elements you should understand is how technology actually allows us to pin-pointedly identify, interact, engage & finally transact with the right audience &/or customer. 

A lot of you who are new to this space, end up using Geo targeting as a generic term, which is an incorrect approach. Here's how Geo targeting is further sub-divided into different parts which are relevant to specific brand objective.  

Geo-fencing

A Geo-fence is a layer of intelligence that allows you to make decisions or take some action based on a geographical area. It can circle anything/ any area you like – a retail store, a stadium, a neighborhood.

Understood and used correctly it can double the ROI on your marketing campaigns, increase the loyalty of your customers, and reduce operational expenses. A Geo-fence is a highly effective way to send locally-targeted, relevant content to your customers at times that most benefit your business. Run a happy-hour? You only need to look up the location of your customers and send them a promotional message once a day to drive traffic. Sales slow between 10-11am? Look up the location of all customers in the area at 9.30am and send them a coupon to redeem when they buy something in (what used to be) that slow hour.

App Based Geo-fencing

You can build an App-based Geo-fence that, as the name suggests, requires you have an app to access GPS data. The most common misconception about App-based Geo-fencing is that once you build your app you will be automatically notified anytime one of your customers enters or exits a Geo-fenced area. The truth is your customers not only have to find your app in the app store or android market, but that app actually has to be running (and killing your customers’ battery) to know if a geo-fence has been crossed.

Network Based Geo-fencing

With Network-based Geo-fencing you don’t need an app to run a Geo-fence campaign. Building and maintaining an app is expensive for a mid-sized brand, and even if your customers download it, if they don’t open it and run it when they’re in your Geo-fence it’s irrelevant. 

Not to mention apps only run on smartphones. Yes, smartphone adoption may be on the rise but over 40% of the US population are still using feature phones. That’s a lot of people you can’t target with an App-based Geo-fence campaign.

Network-based Geo-fence campaigns can target any mobile user connected to a cellular network. And the more people you can target the more effective your campaign will be. There are also no upfront costs involved. Cost is determined on a per-location look-up basis and can be dialed up or down as required.

To summarize the comparison and help you decide if App-based Geo-fencing or Network-based Geo-fencing is the right choice for your business, Loc-aid, the world’s largest LaaS (Location-as-a-Service) company, has created the following comparison chart.

Source : Direction Magazine

LG Nexus 4 - specs, review & how it will change the Indian smartphone market?

The day when most of the Indian newspapers are filled with stories around brewing Cricket betting controversy (yet again) in IPL, there is a huge story (for all you Android lovers) which many of you may just miss ( though I am sure LG would not allow you to do that ).

Finally, the moment has arrived for which I've been waiting for the last 1 year (exactly an year actually). It is a sheer co-incidence that I purchased this beauty exactly an year ago from Singapore ( though it was Samsung Galaxy Nexus ) & since then I am a big fan of this device. And why not, the nexus flavor has been creatively carved by Google for giving the finest Android experience to its users.

The Nexus 4 is now available in India through LG for Rs. 25,999 ($475) from LG exclusive brand shops, multi brand outlets and specialty stores. LG is only selling the 16GB variant of the device in India. Though the initiative has been taken by LG ( and not Google) but nevertheless it is a welcome move that will bring some freshness into the Indian Smartphone market. 

Check out the features & detailed specs of Galaxy Nexus

For LG, it has been a tough journey so far in the Smartphone market. With their Optimus devices not able to make any significant impact,  this could be looked at as LG's last chance to gain some momentum into the Smartphone battle in the 2nd largest (& growing) Mobile market aka India. which  is currently dominated by Samsung (thanks to galaxy devices) & (surprisingly) Micromax (thanks to Canvas devices) 

Here are the devices whose sale can face some serious hit after LG Nexus entry into the Indian market.

Samsung Galaxy S4 & S3

Galaxy Series of S3 & S4 have a tough task ahead to maintain their domination in the premium Smartphone market in India. 

Sony Experia SP

Sony Experia SP may not find time to settle down in the market after this move from LG

Nokia Lumia 900

Nokia's chances of making a comeback in the Indian Smartphone market seems to be getting tougher & tougher.

HTC One X 

HTC One X was just about to give some competition to Galaxy series by its impressive specs. They need to wait for some more time to make an impact. 

If you still wondering what the fuss is all about, check out the nexus phone 4 review done by Engadget

Hot News - Blackberry launching BBM for iOS & Android

This is HOT & FRESH :-)

BlackBerry plans to make BBM their once popular ( I would call market leader, for a lot of people, BB was our first "so to speak smartphone" ) mobile messaging service, available for the first time to iOS® and Android™ users (subject to approval by Google Play and the Apple App Store). 

After reading about this news on Techcrunch, I re-confirmed it on BBM blog, and yes, It is TRUE. 

The announcement was made at company's annual Blackberry Live 2013 conference by none other than the CEO, Thorsten Heins himself.

Check out more on this story in the below video:




This is a fantastic news to all those BBM fans who shifted their loyalties in favor of Android or iPhone. Strategically this definitely a right move because Blackberry was losing the battle of Smartphone quite quickly to its rivals as reflected in the latest Smartphones Shipment Report ( by Gartner May 2013 )

5 Mobile Media Marketing articles you missed last week

1. Barnes & Noble Puts Google’s Play Store and Apps on the Nook

With Google keeping its Android platform as open, it will become increasingly difficult for any vendor such as legendary publisher B&N to keep operating in isolation.

The company’s Nook HD and Nook HD+ are credible content-consumption tablets — remarkably credible, actually, considering that they come from a 127-year-old bookseller. But they sold so poorly over the holiday season that it raised questions about whether B&N would end up being forced to de-emphasize its hardware business in favor of selling content on other platforms.

The Nooks use Barnes & Noble’s own custom version of Android and provide its own stores for books, magazines, newspapers and apps. And therein lies an oft-raised argument against buying a Nook: the Barnes & Noble application store has had only 10,000 pieces of software — mostly for-pay ones — vs. the hundreds of thousands of choices in Google’s Google Play.

Read the complete story

2. Google updates Android platform distribution numbers, Ginderbread is down, Jelly Bean is up 

While Google is on the verge of launching its next gen Android version code name Key Lime Pie, it is quite evident that some of the ancestor versions are now taking their last breadth.

Source : Android Developer Tools

Read the complete story

3.  Nimble Messaging Apps Could Challenge Facebook's Mobile Success

There have been some fascinating developments happening in the world of Mobile. A lot of people would like to term it as 'balance of power' and so be it. It is no rocket science anymore, Facebook is on its way to re-invent themselves as a Mobile company. If we go by this Forbes report, it is evident as to where Mr. Zuckerberg would be putting all his cards. But this time Facebook may have to face quite a few opponents than just Google or Yahoo.


Over the top (or OTT) messaging apps are playing much of the same game that Facebook did when it first emerged from Mark Zuckerberg’s Harvard dorm room – start out as a basic utility for connecting people, then evolve into a platform where third-parties can advertise and sell services.

Several mobile messaging companies are moving in this very direction.


Smaller OTT messaging apps may find that by being close to the ground with their user base and able to introduce features more quickly, they can  evolve  into popular destinations that take attention away from Facebook on mobile devices. That could be an increasing problem if recent stats from independent analytics firm Social Baker are to be believed — that Facebook is shedding users in developed markets like the United States, U.K. and particularly Japan.

Read the complete story

4. Most Important thing in Digital age is PEOPLE

What I love about this article on Mediapost is that it debated (almost dismissed) the notion of "Content is the king" and in just 2-3 logical arguments. I mean till now, all social media strategy presentations were pointing in the same direction that "create winning content" to reach your customer, but we are already in the middle of ocean of content.

How come we forget one very critical element. Advertising is also content, in fact we consume more advertising than actual content in the digital ecosystem.

Read the complete story

5. Smart mobile device shipments exceed 300 million in Q1 2013

Total smart mobile device (notebook, tablet and smart phone) shipments for the Q1 hit 308.7 million units, according to Canalys’ latest worldwide estimates. This represents year-on-year growth of 37.4%. In terms of OS vendors, the Open Handset Alliance continues to dominate, with Android the OS of choice on 59.5% of all smart mobile devices shipped. Of the other OS vendors, Apple’s strength in the smart phone and tablet PC markets accounts for its 19.3% share, while Microsoft’s 18.1% share reflects its relative strength in the PC market but continued challenger status in the smart phone space. 

Read the complete story

Now watching TV ads can earn you some Dollars

I would not believe if you tell me you clicked on this article "not" because you loved the idea of getting paid for watching those TV ads which you hated so badly till now.

Well, you would not hate them anymore because a new start up called Hit Bliss has got a better idea for you.

How about I pay you for watching those ads? Sounds like fun, right? And, it doesn't stops here, I also ensure that I only serve those ads which you like and relevant to you. There you go, the concept of contextual adverts is finally entering the traditional arena. And why not, who likes to watch those stupid commercials in the middle of their favorite shows anyways?

Needless to say that the idea itself is refreshing. Here's what Co-founder Sharon Peyer, Hit Bliss has to say about the relevance of this product in current broadcasting marketplace. ( below excerpt taken from interview given to Video Insider )

HitBliss proves that consumer content has value by inviting the viewer to share in the cost through verified attention to ads or by paying cash. It produces a quid-pro-quo exchange for content. In earning money that can be used to purchase content by viewing ads, viewers must click on “prompts” as they play to insure they are really watching. Advertising waste is eliminated, and consumers no longer need to be bombarded with ads that will never be seen and subsequently trained to avoid ad interruptions at all costs.

Fascinating concept indeed, in fact something which was bothering me for long time in India i.e. why DTH companies are not offering advert free content feeds when consumer is paying for it so heavily? I think Hit Bliss challenges this status quo, and sooner than later this concept will catch fire, particularly in huge consumer driven markets like China & India. More importantly, why should I pay for the entire air time for all the channels which I am not even watching.

Digitization also brings along the democratization of content, a right which was duly ours for decades but now, with Hit Bliss taking the first step, more people will follow soon.

Let me leave you with below discussion from Media Post Channel, interesting to see the discussion has already begun as to how digital apps (on desktop & mobile) can distribute content through web and would it be able attract advertisers in the short term?

PANELISTS
Andrew Kippen, VP of Marketing, Boxee @academik
Tara Maitra, SVP, GM of Content and Media Sales, TIVO
Sharon Peyer, Co-founder, Hit Bliss
Debby Ruth, SVP/Global Sales and Marketing/Advertising Technologies, NAGRA
Andy Wasef, Head of Innovation and Technology for North America, MEC @mecideas

Hiring for Team Lead - Media Research & Analysis for Global Mobile Media Brand

Job Description - Team Lead - Media Research & Analysis from Piyush Aggarwal

How to Apply

Kindly email your resume for the above role to piyush.aggarwal@vdopia.com 

How to select your Digital Marketing Agency in India?

In a continuously evolving media environment, where on one side the opportunity to market your brand has increased due to increase in the number of communication platforms, it has also added to the list of problems for any brand/ marketing manager of choosing multiple vendors for diverse requirements like online media, offline media, BTL, creative, CRM. Technology, PR etc. Unlike the west where most of the clients believe in having specialized units for every task, Indian clients want a one stop solution, which is sometimes not a good idea.

Though most of the big traditional media companies claim that they have the expertise for end-to-end solutions, often that is not the case. A client should be wise enough to figure that out during the pitch process.

A lot of agencies outsource their operations to small vendors and that's quite regular in our industry but the fact remains that this is increasing the time & perhaps even cost for the client which sometimes even results in poor quality as well due to miscommunication. This is one of the reasons why a client should go for specialists ( even specialized consultants who can reduce their pain points and build a smooth process driven marketing approach)

In the digital world, be it India or outside, any agency has certain core expertise which they build up over the years intentionally or unintentionally due to the kind of manpower they hold.

No single agency can provide all the specialized services with highest efficiency & quality and that's a fact. In fact if the agency can focus on their core specialty, they would be in a much better position to get more business compared to ever so growing number of studio agencies.

6 points all clients must look at if they wish to give their business to any single digital agency:


1. Objective : Has the agency been able to interpret the client's objective clearly? Often agency is too busy selling what they want to sell and forget the client's core purpose of advertising.


2. Process Understanding: Does the agency understand the business processes of the sector? This is very important as they need to be aware of the purchase life cycle of the products and the existing sales process which will help them craft their engagement campaigns for the brand more strategically.

3. Money Saving: Is the agency interested in saving client's money in any form, either by improving their business processes internally  or by saving costs through their media planning abilities ( not buying or not even lowering their commissions because that is negligible cost saving ). Has the agency demonstrated any such cost saving measures in the past for any other client.

4. Core Expertise: Client should upfront ask the agency about their core expertise and see the work only in that domain. Though an agency might showcase their credentials across range of services but client should see the crux on day 1 itself.

5. Vision: An agency should also demonstrate their next 4-5 years vision for the client in the digital space keeping an eye on the technology, market & consumer insights which is critical for any brand.

6. Customer & Market Understanding: An agency should also bring their market intelligence by doing a thorough research on the product &/or category so that they have a clear  understanding of their final goal of getting the right audience through right communication & channel.

7. Mobile Understanding: Considering the current status on Mobile devices, soon this would outgrow the digital medium very soon, which essentially means that the agency needs to build a road map for the brand's digital asset transition from online to mobile. Is the agency having the resources who can think about creating a separate Mobile Experience for brand audience? 

Well, I believe this would help any client to understand if the agency can handle their brand in the digital environment or not. If the client is not convinced then I think they should definitely look at the option of hiring various specialists for the job.