Interactive marketing and personalization advertising, what a perfect marriage! As a lifetime online marketer who has been leveraging every advertising and marketing trick in the book to ensure my clients are targeting their desired audience efficiently, this innovation is a dream!
In February, Google launched Google Latitude, an opt-in social mapping service for the mobile. Users can opt-in to the feature, and then invite friends and family to join Google Latitude. Early adopters like Facebook have already incorporated this application to their Facebook Mobile, calling it Geo Maps Technology.
Implemented responsibly this application can be molded into a marketers dream! Instead of us innovative marketers sending emails you don’t read, advert messages you don’t want and offers you don’t acknowledge, we can provide you with useful information, offers and promotions specifically targeted to your wants and needs at the specific time you need them.
Imagine, as a customer you are going shopping, you make a list on your smartphone and enter the mall. Simply walk into the mall and turn on your preferences to accept offers based on your list and perhaps options to look at complementary items, then watch the targeted and sales based on your preference be delivered to your phone! Use the bar code, shortcode, or promocode supplied in the offer then walk into the store and purchase your desired item at discount!
Even more localized, I’m walking by a shoe store and that store is offering a sale on my favourite brand of shoes. I want to know! I’m too busy to go out shopping for an outfit for an event or business meeting when it arises; I need to have it ready. When I see something I like and especially on sale, then I purchase it! That’s who I am and there are multiple other customer profiles that could be targeted in that same manner.
The dream for us marketing folks is that our advertisement or message will appear at the perfect location (geographic targeting), it will know your age, sex and lifestyle (demographic targeting) and it will know your state of mind and your personal preferences (consumer behaviour).
The personal privacy issue that arises is very daunting, but when one incorporates technology one must take responsibility and incorporate structured privacy levels, firewalls and safeguards to attain the level of privacy each customer desires to ensure the correct level of comfort. How private is our live anyway? With all the Internet tools at our disposal you can find out quite a bit of information about people.
In this fast paced world, personally I would like to have the option to double up the speed or mellow it out, if I can do this as easily as turning on and off preferences - bring it on!
If only life was that easy.
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