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May 08, 2013

Mobile Ad Revenue Up and So is the Creep Factor

xAd, a leader in the mobile ad space based on location and search context, has released amazing growth in its quarterly report. According to xAd , mobile ad trends continue to show a shift toward geo-precise targeting, which is approximately 58 percent of all national brand campaigns in Q1 2013, compared to just 27 percent in Q1 2012.

Geo-precise targeting is the ability to target you based on a specific location such as zip code or city. Couple this with data derived from mobile searches and geo-fencing (the ability to reach you based on a set proximity or distance to a business or location), and performance has increased double digits over 2012.

"The rapid adoption of geo-precise targeting techniques, which enable brands to target users based on their exact location, comes as no surprise," said Dipanshu Sharma, CEO at xAd. "National advertisers are becoming better acquainted with the power of precise mobile location and its ability to not only reach specific audiences based on their current or past location behaviors, but its unique ability to reach users at the specific moment they are most likely to view and engage with an ad message."

There is a belief that the wider technology grows, the creepier it becomes. Blind acceptance breeds complacency, which encourages developers to pull more data in regards to our personal life. For instance, Google provides free tools, not so much out of the goodness of the company’s heart but in order to gain users who will use their services. The use of such a service plants the seeds of data that can later be harvested and sold for ads – what you read, web pages you visit, businesses you frequent. All of this is added together to create a picture of you. 

Anonymous or not, a profile of you and your friends is collected and stored for later use. Facebook is perhaps the largest source of this sort of data. Today no one finds fault with displaying such personal information. It allows us to keep in touch with far off friends and family, or easily find old connections. 

While it is clear that we want tools and the ability to connect and stay in touch with friends and family, and that we will give up personal information to do so, we must remain vigilant by keeping in mind what companies do with this data. 




Edited by Alisen Downey


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