
The firm surveyed decision makers from brands and ad agencies in Western Europe, North America, Asia Pacific and Latin America to determine the results. Location targeting was named a key tool for connecting with specific people and outshone the use of proximity targeting, which serves ads to people that are near particular venues or companies.
Use of location has been demonstrated as a rising commodity in the UK this year, with the likes of Gatwick Airport embracing beacon technology – which powers proximity targeting – to catch travellers during downtime and redirect them to stores and restaurants with deals. According to xAd, use of specific locations ahead of proximity among marketers is a result of a maturing market. The company suggested more marketers now “understand a person’s intent and interests” rather than relying on their precise whereabouts.- A new era of marketing: 500 London buses set to receive a beacon tech makeover
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Indeed, the data showed that mobile marketing is a significant priority for more than half of respondents. By regional breakdown, US marketers are set to spend $28bn on mobile advertising in 2015, which makes North America the leader.
That said, Central and Eastern Europe have been helmed as locations to watch as they boast the fastest smartphone adoption rate.
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