Mobile ad spend: location, location, location

SAN FRANCISCO — Successful mobile ad campaigns have a new mantra: location, location, location.

“Someone’s location says a lot about who they are,” said Maureen Little, a senior vice president at marketing software play Turn, at VentureBeat’s MobileBeat 2014.

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Little and other senior mobile ad execs agree that with geolocation tracking and souped-up data analysis tools at their disposal, marketers looking to expand their reach with targeted campaigns are relying more on the technology to customize, and monetize, their efforts. And it’s now starting to reap huge rewards in the nascent sector.

“Context,” said Factual’s Gil Elbaz, “is the name of the game.”

Anne Frisbie, a SVP for global alliances at inMobi, agreed.

She said successful mobile ad campaigns are predicated partially on the capability of mobile ad brokers and exchanges to target their efforts to not only demographics but also the specific locations of the people ad companies want to buy their products.

“You need to drive them to something that is relevant to your individual brand. There is a huge opportunity to personalize,” here, Frisbie said.

The mobile ad sector is massive. There are approximately 500 player that compromise the ecosystem, including ad company’s, ad brokers, exchanges, data analytic and gaming firms and others. Analysts said the space was worth more than $17 billion last year. That number is expected to be around $35 billion by the end of 2014.

In the absence of tracking cookies integral to desktops, the mobile sphere presents a new set of challenges. But those operating within the rapidly changing space are quickly closing the gap. The factors of location, such as where that person lives, and through this, where they shop, are increasingly being extrapolated with geolocation tracking devices embedded in mobile, called device IDs.

“Location is everything for a successful ad campaign,” Frisbie said.

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And mobile ad players well know that they only have a millisecond or less for a potential consumer to hit the yes button.

“You’re explaining the value up front of what it is you’re building,” Frisbie said.

Behavioral information on target audiences also factors into successful mobile ad deployments. With increased efficacy of data tools compiling evermore specific information about consumers and their buying habits, it is becoming easier for brands to broadcast themselves where they need to down to a city block or neighborhood.

Mobile ad executives told the crowd that the subject of weather is also becoming more relevant. Using data management platforms, company’s can more accurately predict, down to the shirt size and color preference, potential clients for targeting by knowing the weather patterns of where the individual resides.

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Alas, people in Miami shop differently for clothes in December than those living in Bangor, Maine, for example. This means that clothing manufacturers now understand, and can deploy, campaigns based on geolocation no matter the season. Or climate. Ultimately, this saves time. And money.

“Location,” said Turn’s Maureen Little, “is the baseline of every marketers strategy.”