If you’re one of those people who like to think you impervious to advertising, well shortly you won’t be able to escape a promotional message. It will be there to see in your hand. Vodacom has launched a location-based advertising offering which is a first of it’s kind in South Africa. The ads are delivered on a user’s cellphone to promote a special offer available at a specific store within a 10km radius of where the person is located.
”Delivering advertising which is contextually relevant is one of the key goals of any advertising and today we are launching what is likely to be the first in a range of location targeting propositions which form part of Vodacom’s overall location based services (LBS) strategy,” says Rick Joubert, Executive Head of Vodacom Mobile Media.
Location-specific advertising is currently being trialed on Vodacom’s mobile social network, The Grid, with partners Nando’s, Sportscene, Jay Jays and Cape Town-based pharmacy group Synergy.
Through the new Grid website location-specific banner ads are delivered to a user’s dashboard once logged in. A web-based location targeted ad will tell a user how far they are from the store’s physical location, e.g. “This is a location-based ad approximately 283m from you”.
On mobile the Grid JAVA application delivers location-specific text link ads to a user’s dashboard. Once a user clicks on the ads they are taken through to the location of that store on a Grid map.
The ads are charged on a cost-per-click model, making it affordable and possible for companies and brands to tailor their advertising needs specific to different stores or promotions.
Joubert says: “The power of location-based advertising is that it suddenly makes something as global as the web incredibly local. This new way of advertising becomes more like the livery of a shop-front than an anonymous and arbitrary display of commercial messaging. It is deeply personal and actionable information.”
Gary Matz, Western Cape Regional Manager for Nando’s says: “We’re always looking for exciting, innovative and relevant ways of spreading the Nando’s fire and that’s how location-based advertising caught our attention. There’s no wastage here, the ad is relevant to the customer down to the nearest street block. What better way to spoil our customers, than telling them that the Nando’s down the road is offering something extra special this week?”
“Jay Jays is a brand that embodies the on the go lifestyle of the youth. Now with LBS advertising, wherever they are they know where to find us.” says Brendan Moran, Merchandise Manager for Jay Jays.
