JiWire Unveils The Location Graph
Gail Chiasson, North American Editor
JiWire, San Franciso-based location-based mobile media company, is now using data to show just how close the connections are between our physical location and our behavior.
Named the ‘Location Graph’, the data provides a unique look at how people’s behavior is interconnected with their locations and each other.
In looking at whether we are creatures on habit, always traveling in the same circles, and other behaviorisms, some of the findings from the Location Graph include:
- 60% of women eat at the same three restaurants each month;
- Moms who go to the zoo also tend to frequent beauty salons, child care centers, counseling services and restaurants;
- 23% percent of people who go to Peet’s Coffee and Tea also go to Starbucks.
And are people loyal shoppers? Well, JiWire found that 43% of those who shopped at a Best Buy also shopped at a competitor’s location
“The Location Graph offers deep insights into user behaviors, some more expected than others,” says David Staas, interim CEO of JiWire. “We all know that people tend to travel in similar circles, and it was extremely exciting to actually see what those patterns looked like, Using location, we can see how similar audiences tend to exhibit the same patterns and compare them to other audience segments – like moms vs. dads vs. students, etc.. The ability to find and create look-alike audiences is going to completely revolutionize the way people think about mobile and location.”
JiWire’s data includes more than 3 billion location tags and continues to grow by more than 16 million per day – a rate that will effectively double the database over the next six months. With that information they are able to build an anonymous profile of a person based on their past and present location. For example, a mobile user may visit a children’s park, grocery store, zoo and maternity store within a given month, qualifying that user as a parent. JiWire’s then incorporates third party data and a machine learning algorithm to continually refine and improve the profile. To date, it has profiled over 500 million devices across the network. This patent-pending process seems to be the most sophisticated form of audience targeting that the mobile industry has seen.
JiWire managements says that the result is a win for users and advertisers alike: consumers see ads that are more relevant and advertisers are able to reach the right audience on mobile in with the right message. Beta testing partners have seen a 30% increase in click-through rates in ads that use Location Graph data and big brands, like Microsoft and Comcast, have already started taking advantage of this information.
“I think using location, not just present location but present and historical location, is a smart way to define an audience,” says Phuc Truong, managing director at Mobext, a mobile media planning agency with offices in 15 countries. “JiWire’s latest solution appears to fill a void in the marketplace for mobile marketers.”
JiWire notes that defining audiences on mobile is nothing new – most mobile audiences are defined by using content as a proxy or using geofencing. However, it claims that both have significant limitations: content targeting is only able to target based on content or web category, not individual user behavior. According to JiWire, location itself is a better proxy for intent, because where a person has been is more important than the mobile apps or websites they visit. Geofencing, on the other hand, is one-dimensional and has a great deal of waste: it assumes that everyone in a geofence is a customer and people are only ‘in market’ when near a store. It is also limited in scale and misses the opportunity that potential customers are also potential customers outside the geofence. JiWire can now provide deep insight into consumer patterns – similarities, frequency, loyalty, and more for brands or anyone using the Location Graph.
“JiWire’s Location Graph is a huge step forward in moving beyond geofencing physical locations to apply location history as a means of gaining insights into discrete audiences,” says Gabriel Cheng, group head of media solutions at Ansible Mobile. “The additional context provided by location history, coupled with the other targeting criteria we rely on, is a great example of how innovation can add to proven methodologies and ultimately elevate the true value of mobile. This is poised to be a game-changer for the mobile ad industry.”
The Location Graph is certified by TRUSTe, provider of privacy management solutions. This partnership ensures people’s safety and privacy on mobile devices. The TRUSTed Mobile Ads privacy management solution allows anyone to easily opt-out if they do not want to receive targeted ads. Additionally, the program guarantees that all data is stored and handled in a way that protects the user’s privacy.
“TRUSTe is excited to partner with JiWire and help power this innovative mobile advertising solution which benefits businesses and consumers by providing highly relevant advertising in a privacy-friendly fashion,” says Chris Babel, TRUSTe CEO.
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