Peek Behind the Sneaks: Location Is Everything in Mobile Marketing

https://blog.adobe.com/media_33d53f98cfc54b4447f444ec786372399e09cf17.gif“Location, Location, Location,” has been a business mantra for decades, but mobile technology, geolocation, personalization and push marketing are bringing new relevance to an old adage. In fact, we know that more than half of all consumers say they are willing to opt-in to location-based services to receive more personalized experiences.

Reaching the right person, with the right offer at the right time creates a powerful experience and positive associations with a brand, but it’s tricky business. Send the right offer at the wrong time and it gets ignored, or worse, feels intrusive. By adding location and Adobe Sensei to the mix, marketers can greatly improve their odds.

That’s why Ankur Garg, a research fellow in Adobe Labs, created #RightSpotIQ, a sneak technology with the potential to add a new level of smart targeting to mobile marketing in Adobe Experience Cloud.

“We know delivering content based on where customers are in the physical world has the potential to improve click-through and response to push notifications. One of the most popular techniques to do this is geofencing,” explains Ankur.

Geofencing creates useful virtual boundaries that can be used to trigger experiences in the real world based on physical location.

“Today, in the Experience Cloud, geofencing is a completely manual process and the marketer creates these boundaries without a clear knowledge of the areas in which the customers are using the app. We wanted to see if we could apply Adobe Sensei to create more relevant geofences and help automate the process of creating more timely and targeted push notifications for users who have opted-in to get this kind of experience from brands,” adds Ankur.

Analytics“Consumers expect brands to reach out to them, when and where they’re wanted and that’s exactly what this technology allows marketers to do,” Ankur says. “That’s why I’m so excited about it. I started learning computer languages in the 8th grade because I was interested in seeing how computers could be used to solve problems. Doing this kind of work at Adobe allows me not only to do research, but apply it in a way that positively impacts millions of people. “

Since every Sneak is a work in progress, it’s a great way for Adobe researchers and product managers to engage real marketers and incorporate their feedback into the design process. “We’re already working to see how far we can push this technology,” Ankur continues. “Can we make it more insightful and more automated? Can we apply deep learning to discover new, relevant segments within the Experience Cloud? Engaging with mobile marketers at Sneaks provides us with the feedback we need to target the most useful possibilities.”

This story is part of a series that will give you a closer look at the people and technology that were showcased as part of Adobe Sneaks. Watch other Sneaks from this year’s Summit here and read other Peek Behind the Sneaks stories here.