To me, the clear marketing trend to watch in 2010 is mobile – everything. Most mobile phones sold in the U.S. in the last several years have either cell tower or GPS location capability. With that, there has been a significant rise in the number of geo-location-enabled applications. And now with the iPhone, the most popular phone on the market, and Blackberry having three in the top ten, Smartphones are enabling mobile location mapping, gaming, social networking and, of course, advertising.

Numerous reports have shown a 30-50 percent growth rate in usage of location-based services and spending on mobile advertising as a whole. The Mobile Marketing Association is forecasting positive trends for 'mobile barcodes and coupons,' 'keeping an eye out for no-cost, turn-by-turn navigation applications,' and 'for augmented reality to start playing a larger role in location-based advertising.'

Google has taken notice. With its intended acquisition of AdMob it aims to extend its advertising network across mobile channels. And while Google's mobile software platform Android has attracted a loyal developer following, its appearance on hardware platforms exploded this year. You can find it on Samsung, LG and HTC, Motorola and even the Barnes & Noble's nook eReader. Google even recently announced its own branded hardware offering called Nexus One. Google also offers a number of applications for web and mobile that are at the center of the geo-location explosion, including Google Maps, Google Earth, Google Talk and of course, Google Latitude. I’ve used most of these on my Chrome Browser, Blackberry Tour or iPod Touch.

Latitude
Google Latitude is a location-aware application for web and mobile devices. Via an iGoogle account you can share your geo-location with allowed friends. In turn, you can find where your friends are, and even set an alert to let you know when a friend is nearby. This enables a type of spontaneous connection that has lead to a number of other gaming and social networking services. When using Latitude in conjunction with Maps, you can locate nearby businesses, restaurants and attractions and get detailed information about the place – as long as they are properly indexed in Google. One can only imagine what the addition of AdMob may do.

Yelp
If you want to see a really useful location-based service, take a look at Yelp.com. Yelp uses your location to find nearby businesses and read user reviews. You are encouraged to add your own reviews and share them with friends or other Yelp users. You can filter searches by business type, distance, price and hours. It’s a useful service with basic social media features, but I think it ultimately needs to be part of a larger service.

Loopt
Loopt.com is an example of a more feature-rich geo-enabled social networking application. It allows friends to periodically 'Check-In' ala Twitter, which notes their current location. The service also lets you view a Friend Map similar to Latitude. You can then send a message to a friend or 'ping' like a Facebook poke. Loopt also adds connectivity to Facebook and Twitter, allowing you to post your check ins as status updates, complete with your geo-location. Loopt adds the idea of a Journal (of your travels?) which exports to blogging platforms. Finally, Loopt has a nice business search feature to help you and your friends 'Discover' the world around you. It’s very easy to use and includes reviews and features from CitySearch Mobile. Clearly there is room for advertising and specials for those looking. This is definitely an up-and-coming location-aware mobile social application. The recently added Loopt Mix enables locating and connecting with others that you may want to meet (sort of like an electronic singles mixer).

Four Square and GoWalla
As recent additions to the location-enabled app space, these two are rapidly gaining popularity. They both add a gaming element to locations and things to do in areas where your friends are. The idea for both is to visit places and participate in activities such as scavenger hunts, add to and execute to-do lists, attend events and just have fun! Savvy shopkeepers are creating real-life prizes for frequent visitors who play. This is similar to any promotion, but utilizes a virtual playground of participants to generate buzz. Both of these applications show how mobile devices can integrate with the real world in new ways. The advertising and promotion potential for location-based businesses is obvious. They both include a number of social network features and integrations. So far the reviews seem to agree that GoWalla is a very good-looking and well-designed application. While FourSquare may not be as visually attractive, it’s more fun. But I do have to wonder if they can stand up to the tide of geo-enabled features from the big boys, Twitter and Facebook. And don't forget about of Google Goggles.

Twitter and Facebook
Facebook already has a rich advertising platform that can easily add location-based ads to its enormously popular mobile applications. Twitter just purchased Mixer Labs to enhance its location-based service that geo-tags tweets with the location of the tweeter. Facebook is expected to add geo-tags to postings, which will enable features found in many of the apps mentioned earlier. Before the end of 2010 I would expect that much of what we do with search and networking and posting of blogs, status updates, photos and videos will be geo-enabled to allow where I am to be a significant part of my virtual existence – with appropriate privacy filters applied.

Technology Techniques
All of these trends stress the need for a properly structured online presence for every business, especially location-dependent businesses. The techniques of Search Engine Optimization, Social Media Optimization and Search Engine Marketing are necessary baselines that can be extended to reach the booming population of mobile users. Trekk has been working with geo-coded data for many years and have been providing map enabled cross-media via our TrekkMaps offerings for more than five years. Ad platforms are incorporating more and more digital channel (cross-media) opportunities every day for marketers. We also need to make sure that micro-formatted addresses, contact information, product and event web pages are present to allow these new services to know about you, your presence and your offerings.

But what about that other new Google tool? Recently released from Google Labs, the concept behind Google Goggles is to make search based on a photo from your mobile device as useful as geo-enabled search. Will it supplant QR codes, and the future of Augmented Reality in Marketing? More on that next year.

Happy New Year!

Posted by JA Stewart at 12/28/2009 08:24:14 AM |