I walk my two dogs every morning, rain, or shine, to let them get out of the yard, stretch their (and my) legs a bit, and to have a good sniff.  Cooley loves to sniff almost everything, from the ferns by our door to whatever smells he can find in the woods across the street, his nose twitching and making sense of all the scents his world has to offer.  He checks specific trees, bushes, and fence posts for new information on the other dogs that have passed this way and leaves his mark as his personal calling card – Cooley was here.  On the other hand, Lottie is more selective in what she sniffs and where she leaves a scent trail.  Other dogs are going to find it more difficult to find good information on her.

My dogs aren’t much different than people in how they share their geo-location data from their personal devices.  Some are like Cooley and leave an almost constant trail of information, while others are more discreet, like Lottie, and share little if anything.  So, what is geo-location data and how do advertisers use it for marketing?

Geo-location data is sort of Where’s Waldo technology for phones, cars with Bluetooth, fitness trackers, global positioning system (GPS) tracking devices on cars to prevent theft or on a person who may be a parolee or a vulnerable adult.  The idea is to locate the device and, more often than not, the person by capturing data from GPS, cell towers, known Bluetooth signals (like those found in gyms), and Wi-Fi networks. The mobile devices are leaving their mark so to speak, and act on user-based permissions to determine if the location information can be shared.  

Apps on your phone for instance, will request permission to access your location information.  You can decide to grant access all the time, just while using the app, or deny access altogether.  This is where my dog Cooley would say, grant access everywhere – there’s nothing to hide!  And my dog Lottie would say – never or only when using the app.

If you are like me, you will agree some apps really have a higher “need to know” threshold – like a weather app that may send a push notice that a tornado or winter storm is in my area, prompting me to take precautions.  Apps for maps and driving directions may only need to know where I am when I am using them.  And other apps like a cooking or music app never receive my permission to have my location.

At Acxiom, our vision is a world where every connection between brands and customers is meaningful.  And we achieve this through our mission to lead and empower brands to understand people through customer intelligence – driving business growth through better experiences. Geo-location, the foundational data source for our Acxiom Signals marketing solution, makes that connection between advertisers and people resonate.  Acxiom Signals allows advertisers to market to people who have been to their physical location or perhaps their competitor’s physical location.  Geo-location data may provide information that I visit Taco Bell regularly.  Acxiom Signals can help Taco Bell find its best customers like me and can help find new ones by reaching people who, for instance, may often go to Wendy’s.  This is the type of advertising I actually like – convince me to try something new that might be similar but not the same.  Show me the benefits and oh, while doing so, throw in a free taco or a bowl of chili.

Follow me when you can; my geo-location settings are mostly on a “need to know” basis, except on LinkedIn – where I’m easily found.

https://fpf.org/blog/understanding-the-world-of-geolocation-data/