Peripheral Turns Smartphones into Auto Nav Systems

location based services

Traffic.com has revealed it will deliver real-time predictive traffic trends, vehicle speeds, congestion levels, travel times, delay times, etc. to Garmin's upcoming automotive navigation accessory for smartphones, the Mobile 20, in 50 major metropolitan areas throughout the U.S. The Garmin Mobile 20 is a car mount with an integrated GPS receiver and bundled mapping software that turns Nokia, Windows Mobile and Treo devices into full-blown get-me-where-I-want-to-go location-based systems through a wireless Bluetooth connection and voice-prompted, turn-by-turn directions.
When the Garmin Mobile 20 ships, sometime in the third quarter, the company said the device will also deliver the same mapping features found in its other portable GPS devices; so users can navigate to a specific street address or search points of interest like hotels, restaurants, shopping, and tourist attractions.
In addition to helping Garmin users avoid traffic problems, Traffic.com emphasized the sponsorship opportunities of the partnership; asserting advertisers would be able to pitch highly-targeted non-intrusive messages to Garmin Mobile 20 users every time they calculate a route or request traffic information through their mobile device: Advertising will presumably pay for the device's traffic capability.
"By partnering with us and our unique mobile advertising network, Garmin will be able to provide our accurate, detailed traffic information as a free, standard feature," said Traffic.com CEO Robert N. Verratti.
The thing is we're not so sure how people will feel about shelling out money for their Garmin Mobile 20 and then receiving ads when trying to find out if there is delay on the interstate. They've already paid for the device, so they may get annoyed if they see a message that says there's a sporting-goods store on the way to the ballgame or somthing—no matter how unobtrusive Traffic.com and Garmin says the placement is.
Consumers are generally less willing to put up with ads on their mobile phones than in other media platforms (i.e. TV, radio, print, fixed-Web), unless they know they are getting something for free. Consequently, if the Garmin Mobile 20 helps them get to where they want to go and they genuinely believe the traffic component helps them avoid delays at no 'extra' cost, a few ads snuck in under the radar may not be such a big deal after all.
The Mobile Marketing MediumMobile advertising is still relatively new, like the medium it piggy-backs on. Marketers are testing the waters with different methods, many interactive, to catch the eyes of consumers without turning them off. A new report by The Shosteck Group even predicts the global mobile advertising market could grow to as high as $9.6 billion by 2010, but only under the most optimistic scenario.
The report says advantages to mobile advertising over other types include the ability to target campaigns by location and through personalization (both integral to what Garmin and Traffic.com are proposing), and making the campaigns time sensitive.
John Darnbrough, Senior Associate at The Shosteck Group, strongly links the success of mobile marketing to content—location data in Garmin's case, for example. "We believe that mobile advertising will be a necessary driver for the development and commercialization of the mobile Internet, just as online advertising has been for the 'fixed' Internet to-date," according to Darnbrough. "It is our view that the two - mobile advertising and mobile content - are inextricably linked. The success of one will enable the success of the other and vice versa."
The success of wireless as a marketing medium is also dependent on the cooperation of major players—operators, handset vendors, content providers, advertisers and Internet portals—especially over the next couple of years.
"Given the immaturity of this market, the fickleness and impatience of consumers, and the complexities and politics of the telecoms industry, we believe the next two years will be critical as other technology and market trends could prove to be barriers to the anticipated growth of this market," explained Darnbrough. "For example, a damaging consumer backlash against intrusive and unsolicited mobile marketing could occur if over zealous marketers fail to respect consumers' right to privacy and inundate them with unwanted and irrelevant mobile marketing messages."
LBS Marketing Without AdsHere's a location-based mobile marketing effort that's different that what Traffic.com and Garmin will provide: Earthcomber, a competitor to Garmin on the software front, earns its revenue through advertising, but with no banner adds or pop ups. When we spoke to Earthcomber's founder and president Jim Brady a few months ago he called the paradim a service or transaction ad model; by getting national brands to opt in.
For example, when a person signs up, they see a list of nationally known restaurants that they can add to their list. Outback Steak Houses, for instance. The user can choose to check it off as one of their favorite things.
Brady acted out the part of a traveler, "I do a lot of driving. I don't know where they all are. It's not like McDonalds, where I can count on one every 20 miles or less. But, hey, if there's an Outback, and if I'm just kind of killing miles on an otherwise boring road; if I know its coming up, I'll drive the extra five or 10 miles to go there."
"When they checked that off as one of their favorite things, to the proprietors of Outback, for this listing, were getting a smartphone-owning person - who fits a nice demographic - who is alerted at their pleasure to any one of their places wherever they are, whenever they are traveling," he added.
Whatever range they set Earthcomber to, say you set it within five miles; it'll popup and tell the user an Outback is within that distance. The user is already sold on the brand. They're simply tapping people on the shoulder, letting them know where it is.
Best of all, Earthcomber asserted, it's unobtrusive.