#SFSNYC: At JPMorgan Chase, the Value of Location Is as a Signal of Intent
It is inevitable that consumers will make a stop at a bank or ATM — everyone needs to deal with their money at some point. Even at a time when mobile banking is available, real-world branches can be readily found in most cities. But what brings a person nearby to a specific bank, or to other locations, can be an indicator of their intent, says Jake Davidow, head of media buying at JPMorgan Chase.
Each person’s needs naturally vary when they go out, whether they want to stretch their legs or search for a last minute birthday gift at a mall, and that makes understanding the context of location important to marketers, he says. Figuring out ways for Chase to interpret and use location-driven intent — and become part of the consumer’s conversation — are just some of the themes Davidow plans to discuss next week on a panel at Street Fight Summit in Brooklyn.
What are some of the topics you plan to touch on at the Summit?
We’re still at an early stage of using location data as a signal to target or as a means to personalize messages. We’re still forming the marketing stack and infrastructure, but there are some smaller ways we are starting to look at with vendors who help us get in front of people at the right time. In the past, the way we thought about location was branch location — either someone looking for a branch or an ATM. What we’re thinking about, if you think of location as a signal of intent, is very similar to the way search marketing works, when people type into Google and what problem they are trying to solve. Google’s been very successful as a platform for marketers to put relevant products or services in front of people as they raise their hands up.
In the physical world, there is a similar type of effect that happens. When someone is at a particular location, they are giving you a signal of intent. If somebody is at an open house, a car dealership, or at branch location, regardless of where people are, you can take very strong signals from that moment and try to get the right product or message in front of them — very similar in the way you do an online search.
That’s how we’ve evolved our thinking. We’re still in the process of executing, but we’re really excited about how we can use location as a signal of intent. Obviously the big thing is to avoid the “creep factor.” We don’t want to do it in any kind of way that’s intrusive. It’s about helping people get to a place where they can solve their problems in a way that’s meaningful and super relevant.
What are you goals in your role heading up some the transformation for the company?
We’re trying to figure out what the right model is. I run a search marketing team and a programmatic team. We’re looking at what other channels we could do more efficiently. There are two reasons why you would bring something in-house. One is you believe you could be more efficient and convert some of your dollars that go to agencies into media dollars. The other reason is as a regulated financial institution, it’s almost impossible for us to work with an outside party with all of the data we have. It’s just very difficult to execute on that. If you bring something in-house, you have the ability to navigate the company, use the data, and do it more efficiently.
We’re still investigating what channels it makes sense for use to bring in-house and what channels it makes sense for us to work with our agency partners. We do know that if we work with our agency partners as extensions of the in-house team, it sets everybody up for success. In the past, where we have been a little passive in how agencies have gone to market for us, we’re very involved now in the planning, execution, and measurement of these campaigns.
From a broader perspective, what does the evolution of local marketing mean to JPMorgan Chase and its customers? How does this all come together in a meaningful way?
In the past, it was all about driving customers to branch locations. I don’t think that’s where we’re at anymore. We’re looking to make everybody’s life easier. If you have been to any of the newer Chase branches, you’ll see it is very self-serve there. You’re able to go in and get out as quickly as possible, unless there is something larger that you’re trying to do such as talk to a business banker or a mortgage broker. Our concept of the role of the branch is evolving. The way people can access our products, especially through mobile, means location is well beyond the branch. How do we add value to our customers and our prospects who might be trying to solve real life problems when they are in that moment at a location?
What technology or new concepts in local are you paying attention to?
Where we want to be is an environment where everything synchs up together, and does so in a way that is as real-time as possible. We’re going to blend different technology in a way that allows us to engage in a very real-time manner as people are in moments. Whatever the signal is that indicates to us we can be part of the conversation — that is where we want to be. Whatever technology that’s going to allow us to do that is where we’re looking.
Joao-Pierre Ruth is a Street Fight contributor.
Join JPMorgan Chase’s Jake Davidow and hundreds of other top local companies and brands at The Best Street Fight Summit Ever — a three-day extravaganza in Brooklyn on June 12-14. Click here to register now!
