xAd Expands Mobile Ad Targeting, Launches New Location, Fencing Tech
Mobile ad network xAd has released new proprietary technologies to expand location analytics and geo-fencing, helping its local and national advertisers further narrow their campaigns based on intensive geographic and behavioral data.
The new products, SmartLocation and SmartFencing, are a direct reaction to what xAd sees as a lack of precise, real-time location data in the mobile advertising space. “We think that the traditional location-based targeting technologies out there will soon be unsuitable for mobile, as they won’t be able to provide the level of accuracy needed to maintain optimal ad performance at scale,” Chi-Chao Chang, xAd’s president of products and technology, told Street Fight in an email. “Location is one of the keys to effective mobile monetization.”
To start, SmartLocation uses an algorithm to analyze a slew of consumer location signals, such as latitude and longitude (if available, this is generally most accurate), IP address, zip code and city/state address. Once obtained, the data is scored for accuracy — to ensure that LL coordinates, if available, are real and not converted from a zip code, via geocoding software, which can lead to imprecise data — and performance.
The SmartFencing technology, designed to make geofences less static, sorts through troves of real-time and historical mobile search data to analyze trends in consumer behavior across location. Chang says the fencing technology can adjust a marketer’s targeting area, which can vary depending on the time of day or day or week, in real-time. An example: consumers who conduct mobile searches for banks or ATMs generally react to ads for these services within one or two miles, but those searching for seafood are willing to engage with ads for restaurants 10-20 miles out.
The appeal for clients is more locally targeted ad campaigns on mobile. And with today’s advances, the idea is to enhance ROI simply by making ads more relevant, facilitating consumer engagement and strong clickthrough rates.
“Our Smart technology is the next evolution in mobile advertising, taking all location information currently available to us in the market, making sense of it and putting it to good use,” said Chang in an xAd press release accompanying the announcement, “and we do this all without relying on user or cookie tracking.”
Patrick Duprey is an editorial assistant with Street Fight. Follow him on Twitter @PatrickJDuprey.