It’s a challenging time to be a mobile network operator (MNO). Despite investing over $700 billion in infrastructure investment during the last 10 years, revenue growth has stagnated and margins have declined. The main reason? Market saturation.
However, there are opportunities for MNOs willing to look in the right places – to thrive in a stagnating climate, you need to seek out new revenue streams.
And that’s where location intelligence comes in. According to BIA/Kelsey’s mobile ad spending report, location-targeted mobile ad sales are set to rise from $9.8 billion in 2015 to $29.5 billion by the end of 2019. In other words, location intelligence is a powerful force in the mobile world. And as an MNO, you’re in pole position to turn it to your advantage.
Differentiate your offering to keep pace with key players
If you’re looking for ways to set yourself apart from the rest – and remain competitive and profitable – business location intelligence is a sound investment.
Location intelligence is fast becoming a crucial component for brands and businesses around the world. According to LBMA’s Global Location Trends Report, around 250 leading global brands – including BMW, Tesco, Starbucks, Coca-Cola and Starhub – are leveraging location-based technologies to connect with their customers. The report also highlights that 75% of marketers believe that location-based marketing is an important business issue.
There’s been a shift in the consumer psyche, too. A survey of 1,000 mobile phone users conducted on behalf of Engage Hub and the Mobile Marketing Association found that the majority of us (74%) are happy to share location-based data – provided there’s transparency and some benefit.
Turn your raw data into valuable insights
So, what does this mean for MNOs? And how can you best utilise your valuable GSM data to deliver these services? Well, as mobile operators (with access to a plethora of raw data) you’re in a strong position to capitalise on the opportunities opened up by location-based advertising.
By utilising the raw data held on the GSM network and processing it into actionable, location-based advertising, you can open up an entirely new revenue stream – all smoothly processed through a single platform. Working in collaboration with brands and agencies, you’re also able to deliver hyper-located advertising and messages on their behalf.
But if you’re panicking that you don’t have the resources or the expertise to build the necessary technology, relax. New technology (such as that developed by Engage Hub) gives you the tools you need to develop a mobile-centric strategy that harnesses the real-time location data of your subscriber base.
Deliver targeted, location-based advertising
As a result, you’re able to target a diverse audience – your entire opted-in subscriber base, to be precise – based on age, location, demographics and behaviour. And thanks to the wealth of location triggers and behavioural information you have all in one place (web browsing, phone usage and roaming data, to name a few) you’re able to build smart segments that engage users at every stage of the customer journey.
Put simply, a platform like the one we’ve developed at Engage Hub enables MNOs to deliver a scalable, repeatable solution, continuing further revenue growth without interfering with MNO subscriber ARPU campaigns.
That’s just what we’ve achieved for Weve, one of the UK’s leading providers of mobile marketing and commerce services. Our mobile engagement hub helped the organisation harness real-time location data, enabling them to drive a 98% increase in mobile advertising revenue year-on-year across its base of 31 million subscribers. During the first 6 months of working with Weve, we initiated over 1,000 blast campaigns, which translated into 75 million messages sent to the right people at the right time. (For further details, read our case study.)
Build personal, profitable relationships in real time
When you leverage real-time technology, you’re able to connect with customers at the right time, building deeper – and more profitable – relationships. What’s more, customer experience is improved through the delivery of targeted, relevant information. And it’s not about blast campaigns alone; sophisticated campaigns can be run using real-time targeting, based on a subscriber’s GPS.
Targeting tools enable MNOs to choose the appropriate message for each campaign, resulting in highly targeted and personalised campaigns that deliver unprecedented results.
But why is it so effective?
- These days, the sophistication of multiple marketing channels mean there’s simply no point making blanket offers to people in the vague hope they might want what you’ve got – by personalising ads to people based on their location, you are much more likely to make them an offer that’s relevant to them
- One of the key strengths of location-based ads is that you can deliver them in real-time – giving brands the opportunity to target people at key moments
- When messages are targeted (for example to Saturday afternoon shoppers or Friday night revellers) they’re relevant and therefore much less likely to be blocked or ignored – meaning you won’t waste time and money sending ads to people who literally couldn’t care less
Ultimately, if you’re looking for ways to open up additional data streams and bolster your relationships with your customers, business location intelligence provides a scalable, sustainable solution.
Our latest whitepaper explores how we can help you monetise your network data by delivering hyper-targeted advertising campaigns. Download it now.
