Articles

3.8.2010 Mobile tools could boost brand owners

Brand owners that exploit location-based services on mobile phones could benefit from a substantial first-mover advantage among a small but highly influential audience.

According to a poll by Forrester, a total of 4% of American adults have used platforms like Foursquare, Gowalla and Loopt, which reward shoppers for "checking in" at specific sites such as restaurants and retail outlets.

"The market is quite nascent, with only a few million consumers using geo-location apps monthly," Forrester's study said.

Just 1% of its panel accessed these services – which have attracted companies like Pepsi, Starbucks and Campbell's Soup – on a weekly basis.

While 84% of respondents had not even heard of the applications, some statistics may prove enticing.

"Bold, male-targeted marketers [should] start testing, but that most marketers should wait until they can get a bigger bang for their buck, when adoption rates increase and established players emerge from the fray," Forrester concluded.

B.L. 3.8.2010