While Location Intelligence is being used by various companies to boost their business by innovative measures, it is an integral component of location-based advertising (LBA). In the past few years Location Intelligence has been actively used to provide accurate offline attribution mechanism for digital campaigns.
In my previous blog What is is location-based advertising (LBA)? I mentioned about how LBA is fast catching up amongst marketers, its advantages and disadvantages.
As we know many companies indulge in providing discounts or coupons on various products as part of advertising gimmick based on the location of customers. While the customers can be easily be misled by these advertisements, there is a equal pressure on businesses to optimize these discounts so that money isn’t lost when customers redeem them.
So then what is the solution? In this blog I will focus on how Blockchain can be a major help for some of the problems that LBA entails and how can this technology enhance LBA.
Before we discuss on the topic further, let us look at what is Blokchain in nutshell
What is Blockchain?
The Chain in Blockchain is the chain of transactions in the form of ledger entries about assets which could be money, imagery, data, maps, documents, etc. In reality what is actually transacted are tokens containing the metadata of the assets. The actual physical transfer happens separately. Block refers to the grouping of transactions related to each other. A way of looking at a Blockchain is to consider it as a ledger where all transactions are entered.
This technology can be used in various applications:
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How can Blockchain help LBA?
Due to Blockchain’s unique infrastructure, the technology can effectively address security drawbacks in centralized content hosting. It makes storing information and value on the network safer than ever.
The technology uses cryptocurrency as a medium of exchange for whatever is being transferred between the network’s users, like space on a Cloud storage platform, bandwidth on a decentralized VPN service, or digitized money in solutions like Bitcoin or Ethereum. Middlemen have no place on Blockchain as there are no gates between users and content providers where fees or tolls can be installed.
Cryptocurrency acts as a type of monetary reward but can be customized to incentivize stakeholders only for the activities that benefit others in the ecosystem. Location-based advertising is a pertinent application for this technology because it can better align the interests of those being targeted and those doing the targeting, nurturing a mutually beneficial connection between them. Innovative companies are pursuing this concept with enthusiasm.
A win-win situation — rewards through tokenization
One thing which can largely be beneficial is companies tokenizing their services. Businesses reward people in their local area who complete tasks that inherently create value, like posting on social media, writing a brief review and so forth. LBA platform tokens can be spent at these retailers like cash, with more freedom than a mere coupon. Those consumers who work hard to contribute, participate and spend their tokens frequently are tracked by the immutable ledger and given a score which allows them to borrow more tokens to use in their favorite stores.
Now merchants don’t have to breakeven to win loyal business, and can get tangible advertising results in exchange for a small discount. However, Blockchain can offer merchants access to irrefutable data that can optimize their efforts. Because of the way the technology is built — with transactions being recorded in an immutable and open ledger — user data remains protected. It also offers businesses the ability to fully trust their results as there is no middleman or filter distorting the view. This gives merchants the ability to better fine tune their promotions, and offer more relevant deals to customers based on transparent data.
What does it lead to?
By tokenizing services we can see more transparency in location-based advertising. It also provides better reach for local businesses and offers customers a better deal in exchange. With a steady increase in smart phones, mobile devices have the capability to be a portal to the best local experiences. Thus, Blockchain is paving a smooth way where local customers can quickly find the local establishments most enthusiastically chasing after their business.
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