This session explored how location is being used in many unexpected ways to define audiences, enable personalization, measure traditional media and reshape media buying and planning for brands. Panelists include Tyler Bell of Factual, Lauren Moores of Dstillery and Matt Doherty of PlaceIQ.

The panel focused on how location information can be used beyond serving up an ad within a radius of a specific location. Location information provides much richer and deeper insight about a consumer that conveys a profile that can be accurately targeted.

For example, geo-targeted ads might target travelers at an airport. Traditionally, that singular location data point would be used for travel related businesses like car services to find travelers. However, adding other data points such as date of travel helps distinguish likely business travelers from vacation travelers.

Travel history, for example, might show whether someone is arriving or departing from the location. And extended travel history might show the propensity to visit certain destinations. All of this information builds a richer profile including tastes, preferences, and desires, and permits the consumer to now be targeted based on more than just current real time location.

In addition technology that allows tracking of cross device use from PC’s to mobile help predict future consumer behavior. Matching search history on a desktop with geographic location of a mobile device provides fuller insight into consumer intent. Capturing this intent to predict future behavior is another way to target consumers with relevant and timely advertising.

Another way of optimizing ad delivery is through matching TV viewership with mobile users. Technology now allows matching set top box data to geographic “tiles” of an average of 2.8 households. The results clearly demonstrate increased viewership when mobile ads are targeted to those also receiving TV ads.

The ways in which location can be used to better target opens the door for smaller businesses to take advantage of media channels previously only available to larger companies. More targeted ads are better optimized and more efficient in reaching the most relevant consumers for small businesses.