According to a survey by the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), one in four U.S. adults use mobile location-based services. And nearly half of those users responded in some fashion to location-based ads.
By comparison, 37 percent of the survey respondents noticed any ads while sending/receiving texted messages and 28 percent noticed an ad while browsing the mobile web.
The survey of more than 1,000 U.S. adult consumers in mid-March gauged consumer's responsiveness to location-based advertising (LBA). Of the respondents, 91 percent have a cellphone and 26 percent of that group have used a "map, navigation or some other mobile phone service that automatically determines your current location."
Other findings from the survey:
- Ten percent of all cellphone owners use location-based mobile services at least once per week
- Adults ages 25-34 are frequent users of location services, with 22 percent using them at least once a week.
- Sixty-three percent of iPhone owners use location-based mobile services at least once per week
- Respondents said they use these services most frequently to "locate nearby points of interest, shops or services."
- Consumers are interested in allowing their phone to automatically share their location in exchange for perks, such as free use of mobile applications and mobile coupons.
"Consumers believe location-based services offer them significant benefits in functionality and relevance," said MMA market intelligence VP Peter Johnson in a statement. "Consumers' significant adoption and appreciation of location-based services opens up enormous new opportunities for brands and agencies to leverage this unique virtue of the mobile channel."
Discussion Questions: What do you think of the potential of location-based mobile advertising? Do you see anything that may hinder consumer acceptance or further adoption?