xAd, the global location marketplace is all set to release Blueprints – a new technology that automates the creation of the most accurate place data for location-based mobile marketing. Through Blueprints, xAd has curated more than 12 million business locations in the U.S. alone. With people checking their phones 150 times a day, 50% of that mobile activity taking place outside the home. With people on the go and always connected, location data from mobile devices has become a powerful data set to not only better identify and understand the needs and intent of mobile audiences, but a way to reach these targeted consumers with relevant messages, and ultimately measure whether these activities actually resulted in a store visit or sale.
“Place data accuracy is paramount when using location data to define audiences or even to use as a form of attribution,” said George Rekouts, Head of Technology Infrastructure, xAd. “Knowing the actual physical area of a store can help make the crucial determination of a consumer who visited an actual store versus just passing by.” Blueprints data is based on the physical boundaries of business locations (the outline or blueprint of the outside of the physical store), rather than the area around the street address. Most commonly available data is derived from navigational systems, resulting in a business address on the map represented as a point on the street, not in the middle of the business store. Drawing a circle – or radial fence – around that point would result in grossly inaccurate store visitation data. This is also important as most businesses are actuallyset back from the street – some as far as over 100 metres – the length of a football field.
