The intro: Location Based Marketing is not only about Check-ins
There is a common weakness in the marketing field. Marketers often design their strategy around a new trend or the next big thing. In a more complex digital world, it is now more important than ever to tackle the digital complexity by avoiding a trend and focusing on the 360 view that combines the strength of the digital and traditional world. One of those new trends is described as Location Based marketing or LBM.
LBM means more than only check-ins on Foursquare and Gowalla. Location based marketing encompass all the activities around the Users, Merchants, Marketing and Location.
Actually, the only translation of this strategy (LBM) is the check-in feature. This situation arise a strategic challenge because none of the studies and none of the actual experiences have shown concrete results yet:
The Question: How does the Click react to Location in Canada?
Is it true that the 3G Check-in feature is designed to be a mainstream strategy, everywhere in Canada?
The Source
According to comscore, yellow pages Group is the biggest Location Based network in Canada with more than 10 Millions UVs. Comparing to Google that convert only 20% of it’s traffic into Location Based. YPG is one of the heaviest digital players in the Canadian Location Based Marketing.
Based on the results coming from YPG Network, I wanted to share with you some findings.
The overview
In terms of numbers and ROI, the Click is not reacting the same way from a Location to another. There’s four Location Segments in Canada that share some equivalent characteristics. When it comes to Location Based Strategy, surprise, the print and the Web are mainstream with strong results (depending on the analyzed categories and Locations). The mobile is in a very strong shape to become mainstream rapidly.
Quick Note:
At this time in the post, you’re probably disappointed or skeptical that I have used the word “print” in a digital post. Please note that I’m not in any way defending the print directory. I’m sticking to my findings, based on the data and the results that are available.
This is why Marketing field is now so complex! It’s no longer about print, mobile or Web as silos. The 3 channels offer opportunities depending on the goals that a marketer wants to achieve versus targeted locations. The debate needs to avoid focusing on the channels but on the business Goals (strategy) and the results.
The biggest challenge in marketing is to know when and how to use each Channel in a way that allows maximizing the end results.
The findings : The 4 Location Based Canadian Segments
Location Based Marketing Segmentation in Canada
Cosmo Segment
Metro Segment
Centro Segment
Towns Segment
Detailed View
click to Enlarge
Graph 1 : The Correlation between number of leads and Location
click to enlarge
Graph 2 : The Cost per Lead vs Location
| Population of census metropolitan areas (2006 Census boundaries) | Province | 2009 Population | Internet Penetration Rate | Location Segment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Peterborough (Ont.)1 | ON | 121 400 | 78,00% | Centro |
| 2 | Thunder Bay (Ont.) | ON | 124 800 | 78,00% | Centro |
| 3 | Saint John (N.B.) | NB | 126 600 | 70,60% | Centro |
| 4 | Moncton (N.B.)1 | NB | 133 900 | 70,60% | Centro |
| 5 | Guelph (Ont.)1 | ON | 135 900 | 78,00% | Centro |
| 6 | Brantford (Ont.)1 | ON | 137 700 | 78,00% | Centro |
| 7 | Trois-Rivières (Que.) | QC | 145 100 | 75,00% | Centro |
| 8 | Saguenay (Que.) | QC | 151 700 | 75,00% | Centro |
| 9 | Kingston (Ont.) | ON | 160 700 | 78,00% | Centro |
| 10 | Greater Sudbury (Ont.) | ON | 165 300 | 78,00% | Centro |
| 11 | Abbotsford-Mission (B.C.) | BC | 173 700 | 78,00% | Centro |
| 12 | Kelowna (B.C.)1 | BC | 178 400 | 78,00% | Centro |
| 13 | St. John's (N.L.) | NB | 187 600 | 70,60% | Centro |
| 14 | Barrie (Ont.)1 | ON | 190 400 | 78,00% | Centro |
| 15 | Sherbrooke (Que.) | QC | 194 600 | 75,00% | Centro |
| 16 | Regina (Sask.) | SK | 210 000 | 79,00% | Metro |
| 17 | Saskatoon (Sask.) | SK | 257 300 | 89,10% | Metro |
| 18 | Windsor (Ont.) | ON | 331 500 | 84,40% | Metro |
| 19 | Victoria (B.C.) | BC | 352 400 | 86,00% | Metro |
| 20 | Oshawa (Ont.) | ON | 361 400 | 83,30% | Metro |
| 21 | Halifax (N.S.) | NS | 398 000 | 83,30% | Metro |
| 22 | St. Catharines-Niagara (Ont.) | ON | 404 400 | 76,80% | Metro |
| 23 | Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo (Ont.) | ON | 489 100 | 76,90% | Metro |
| 24 | London (Ont.) | ON | 489 300 | 84,70% | Metro |
| 25 | Hamilton (Ont.) | ON | 739 400 | 81,80% | Cosmo |
| 26 | Winnipeg (Man.) | MB | 742 400 | 82,70% | Cosmo |
| 27 | Québec (Que.) | QC | 746 300 | 75,90% | Cosmo |
| 28 | Edmonton (Alta.) | AB | 1 155 400 | 85,80% | Cosmo |
| 29 | Ottawa-Gatineau (Ont.-Que.) | ON / QC | 1 220 700 | 85,50% | Cosmo |
| 30 | Calgary (Alta.) | AB | 1 230 200 | 89,00% | Cosmo |
| 31 | Vancouver (B.C.) | BC | 2 328 000 | 86,20% | Cosmo |
| 32 | Montréal (Que.) | QC | 3 814 700 | 82,70% | Cosmo |
| 33 | Toronto (Ont.) | ON | 5 623 500 | 81,50% | Cosmo |
LBM Segmentation Table
Source : http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo05a-eng.htmConclusion
Depending on which location segment you’re targeting, your marketing investment needs to be adjusted.
Check-in features can’t be mainstream today for two main raisons. Fists, the check-in features are being used by only Cosmo and metro segments. Second, the smart phone users are not representing 100% of the population today. Depending on your business Category, a Location Based strategy will still need the 3 channels to deliver results.
Location Based marketing Canvas
