Placecast launches location-based mobile marketing service

PLACECAST has today announced the launch of ShopAlerts, a service that delivers location-triggered mobile messages when shoppers enter “geo-fences” that can be created around virtually any area.

According to a company statement, the service, previously tested in trials, has already demonstrated promising results for retail marketers across the United States.

Placecast's ShopAlerts service is a retailer marketing solution. Retailers leverage the technology to create their own version of the service; then consumers choose the brands they like, and may opt-in through a variety of means - at the store, online, via text-message, mobile website, or social network. Once ShopAlerts is activated, consumers go about their day and the service automatically alerts them when they are near a location that they are interested in or when the brand is offering sales and specials.

Unlike many new mobile advertising innovations available only as applications on smartphones, ShopAlerts works on any phone, which is a benefit for retailers who wish to reach people who do not own smartphones (in the US this is 196 million people).

ShopAlerts geo-fences are virtual boundaries that can be targeted via location-based marketing. Using geo-fencing, the service enables retailers to talk to their customers when they are near a store, shopping nearby, or doing other things they enjoy. Geo-fences can be created around any location and are set to trigger a personalized marketing message to opted-in consumers entering the defined area on their mobile phones. Customised messages are created and delivered automatically to shoppers creating a trusted, one-to-one communication channel based on place and time. Click here to watch a video of how it works.

“SMS is already very effective marketing platform and by adding location to the proposition you'll see even greater consumer response,” said Greg Sterling, senior analyst for Opus Research's Internet2Go program.

“Geo-fence technology represents the next frontier for digital marketing as consumers expect to connect with brands at the right place and time, all via their mobile device,” said Alistair Goodman, CEO for 1020 Placecast.

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