Mobile Location Data Accuracy Group to Develop Guidelines

The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), a global trade association for the mobile marketing industry, is forming a Mobile Location Data Accuracy Group. The focus of the group will be to eliminate any confusion around mobile location data and to improve the trust and confidence brand marketers and agencies have in mobile location advertising and the data that drives it.

Simultaneously, the MMA is forming a Location Leadership Council that will be an industry “think tank” comprised of a merging together of thought leaders from the MMA’s Location and Privacy committees and experts in the various areas of location — marketing, technology, data and policy. Stemming from the council will be a number of working groups, the first of which is the Mobile Location Data Accuracy Group.

The working group will expand on the previously launched Location Terminology Guide, in which the MMA Location Committee identified eight types of location data and signals, and ranked each according to the reach and accuracy of the data. The data and signals to be examined by the working group include (from most accurate to least):

• Indoor positioning system
• Bluetooth
• GPS
• Wi-Fi hotspots
• Wi-Fi triangulation
• Cell tower triangulation
• IP address
• User reported location

Specifically the Mobile Location Data Accuracy Group will:

1. Dig deeper into each of these data types and elaborate further on their appropriate uses and limitations.
2. Develop and issue an RFI (Request for Information) to all location data vendors and validators that will establish criteria with which vendors can be aligned with the data types they use.
3. Establish strict, standardized definitions with the MRC that vendors will be held accountable to and audited against.

According to an April 2014 BIA/Kelsey study on local media spending, location targeted mobile advertising accounted for 40% of the $7.22 billion mobile ad spend in 2013, and is expected to grow to 52% of the $30.3 billion forecasted for 2018.

“In order to scale mobile marketing specifically driven by location data, it is critical for the industry to come together to develop a common set of definitions of the types of location data available and how they are best used,” said Greg Stuart, CEO, MMA. “By agreeing to and abiding by a common set of best practices and guidelines, MMA members will be instrumental in driving the growth in the industry while assuring brand marketers of the measurable value derived from their mobile efforts.”

With tighter definitions of location data, and the viable uses of such data, measuring results will be more consistent and reliable, the MMA said. These benchmarks will allow buyers to have a much clearer understanding of the data being used, and how it will impact their location-driven mobile advertising campaigns.

Initial members of the group will include:

• xAd – Monica Ho, SVP Marketing (co-chair)
• Joule – Michael Lieberman, CEO (co-chair)
• Factual – Vikas Gupta, Director of Marketing
• ThinkNear – Brett Kohn, Director of Marketing
• Mobiquity – James Meckley, CMO
• Nielsen – Tom Eaton, VP, Client Services
• MEC – Bav Panchal, Mobile
• OpenX – Rob Kramer, GM, Mobile
• Ubimo – Ran Ben-Yair, CEO
• Verve – James Smith, CRO

“Having this type of transparency into location data is a huge step forward that will allow us, as buyers, to invest in mobile with increased confidence,” said Michael Lieberman, CEO, Joule North America. “This program will, in large part, allow mobile marketing to truly scale and deliver measurable results for our clients around the world.”

“We are committed to improving clarity and defining auditable standards for location data and ultimately all of location-based services. This will remove the barriers for brands and agencies to leverage the power of this unique mobile value proposition and improve their confidence in how and what to use,” said Monica Ho, SVP Marketing, xAd. “We are excited to work with the MMA and the industry in achieving standards that we believe will be critical for scaling the mobile marketing industry.”

The Mobile Location Data Accuracy Group will be gathering the industry leaders to share initial definitions and use cases at the Location Data Accuracy Panel Session August 26 at the Crowne Plaza Times Square, New York, 6:30-9 p.m. The session will provide an opportunity for brands, agencies and key partners in the location advertising arena to meet and discuss opportunities ahead.