The location-based services (LBS) and advertising (LBA)
markets have come under intense scrutiny, with privacy legislation a major
focus because of recent locationgate” controversy.

 

The temporary debate will not prevent the future success
of location-based services, marketing and advertising, all of which will be
based on location analytics the aggregation and analysis of location
information to identify trends that will enable new services and more effective
advertising, according to ABI Research.

 

ABI Research
forecasts size of the location analytics market to reach $9 billion in 2016.

 

At the moment, the initial LBA trials are largely focused
on geofencing, with impressive results. However, the real power of LBA will
come through social, geographic, physical and emotional indicators to filter
advertisements to a specific user.

 

The best way to combine these indicators and target them
to individuals in a non-intrusive, anonymous way is through location analytics.

 

While the location analytics market is relatively new,
it has been evolving for a number of years and has been the major driver for
recent location-related acquisitions by the likes of Apple, Google, Nokia,
Facebook and Microsoft,” said Dominique Bonte, practice director, ABI Research.

 

Eventually, location will become commoditized and will be
treated as just another piece of demographic information. Consequently,
location analytics will become the core provider of value in location-based
advertising.

 

By Telecomlead.com Team
[email protected]