Elizabeth Churchill article for Interaction Magazine , Today’s Flaneur: From HCI to Place-Based Interaction and Human-Place Interaction, is an analysis of how Location-aware devices are such as smart phones, GPS car devices and handheld GPS devices are quickly changing the way we interact and view the world around us.
Churchill discusses the current uses of such devices and touches of some of the possibilities these devices could hold for us in the future. People are already commonly using GPS devices in their car to get locations and advise on places of interest. We also have started to use them to locate our friend and acquaintances by incorporating social media to our smart phones. Going forward they expect to start these devices will also give interesting details on the history of the surrounding locations. This could make a tour guide a thing of the past as people start to use sites as apps such as “Locative Learning Project” offered through http://banff-mobilehistory.ca/ through their mobile devices.
Churchill touches only slightly on the negative side of location-aware devices by commenting on a woman who believed her GPS more than her own eyes and drove off a bridge. As she states towards the end of the article she wanted to avoid the discussion of privacy and security. This seems to be an attempt to focus the article towards the opportunities location based devices could hold going forward into the future of this technology.
Regarding the marketing side of location based devices, she comments on the current use of locating restaurants and other entertainment but makes note that currently the details on these locations are not provided. Some locations are already using this technology to direct customers to their establishments by offering free drinks or discounts.
The use of location based marketing will expand as the technology becomes more utilized by the general public and as new apps become available. Some marketers have already started to use location based marketing, such as taxicabs in New York City, as noted in E-Marketing by Judy Strauss and Raymond Frost.
We can foresee a future of location based device users walking the streets and getting notified of their options for a quick drink here, a simple snack there, and a recommend book available in the book store around the corner.
These devices can become an excellent mechanism to promote products and businesses if utilized correctly. Currently they will direct customers to a location but marketers have an opportunity to pull customers in by offering more entertaining. For example, if you walk down a certain street your device notifies you of a comedy club around the corner and shows a recent act in a quick video, but you can only get the details when in the vicinity of the comedy club. By not offering it online and having the content be entertaining enough to start a buzz, they could bring more people to the general location with the created opportunity of pulling more customers through the buzz. This could make location based marketing more than just a location finder but help it go viral.
Goggle has just launch a new app available for Android user to locate parking. This new location based software allows Android users to advise other Android user where parking is available and even give up to the second advice as the user pulls out of their spot. New apps for location based devices are being developed all the time. Marketer must find a way to utilize this up and coming technology.
If you need advice on how to get started in the location based marketing realm, Mashable/Mobile has an article to get you started, “9 Killer Tips for Location-Based Marketing”. It includes nine steps to get started and advise on common mistakes.
The nine steps are as follows:
1) Learn the platforms
2) Determine your goals
3) Establish your presence
4) Customize
5) Implement compelling promotions
6) Engage with you customers
7) Track everything
8) Be prepared to adapt
9) Avoid common pitfalls
There are several social networking platforms currently available for location based devices to start you on your path to promoting your business or product, such as Gowalla, Loopt, Google Latitude, and Foursquare.
Currently businesses are utilizing them to increase foot traffic to their stores by offering promotions for checking in on the location. For example free cup of coffee with every ten “check ins”, is a common promotion.
The future is bright for location based devices and apps. Marketing groups are just starting to exploit this new technology that brings together GPS and social networking. Who know what interesting buzzes will develop as this technology become more popular.
References
Churchill, Elizabeth, “Today’s Flaneur: From HCI to Place-Based Interaction and Human-Place Interaction,” interactions, July + August 2010, http://interactions.acm.org/content/?p=1389 , (accessed July 2010).
Frost, Raymond and Strauss, Judy, “E-Marketing” Pearson Prentice Hall, 2009
Snow, Shane, “9 killer Tips for Location-Based Marketing,” Mashable/Mobile, http://mashable.com/2010/03/15/location-based-marketing/ , (accessed July 2010).
Warren, Christina, “Google Launches App to Help You Find Open Parking,” Mashable/Mobile, http://mashable.com/2010/07/09/android-open-spot/ , (accessed July 2010)
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