ABCs of LBS

© 2011 IBM Corporation

The ABCs of LBSAn Introduction to Location-based Applications

@eric_andersen #TechDayCamp

22 October 2011

© 2011 IBM Corporation2

Who am I?

@Eric_Andersen #TechDayCamp


Who am I?

Source: If applicable, describe source origin



Who am I?






Authors on Twitter: @AaronStrout and @SchneiderMike





What is LBS, and What’s Driving It?


What is LBS?

Location-based Service (LBS):

An information or entertainment service, accessible with mobile devices through the mobile network and utilizing the ability to make use of the geographical position of the mobile device

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Location-based_service#LBS_applications



What is LBS?

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Location-based_service#LBS_applications


Examples of Location-based Services:

Requesting nearby businesses or services

Turn-by-turn navigation

Location-based advertising and geofencing

Social networks to locate friends on a map

Recommendations of nearby events

Games in which your location is part of the game play


Growth of smartphone usage@Eric_Andersen #TechDayCamp


Growth of smartphone usage@Eric_Andersen #TechDayCamp



Location-based ApplicationsAnd the Check-in


Location-based Applications and the Check-in




Location-based Applications:

Mobile applications which leverage one or more types of location-based services, often incorporating a social graph (friends, family, etc) and forming a location-based social network.




Check-in:

A check-in is a way to indicate your location at a particular place, and, if the check-in is public, share it with friends. In its simplest form, it’s a status update, indicating where someone is at a particular time.

Nataly Kogan, Vice President, WHERE


Source: Location-Based Marketing for Dummies




Two types of check-ins: Active – Users must consciously take an action to check-in, e.g. click a

button

Passive – The check-in is transparent to users, i.e. does not require them to do anything explicitly. This could be triggered by proximity to a location, or by some other action such as swiping a credit card.




Source: http://pewinternet.org/~/media//Files/Reports/2011/PIP_Location-based-services.pdf

But really, who’s doing this?




Source: http://pewinternet.org/~/media//Files/Reports/2011/PIP_Location-based-services.pdf



Key Location-based Applications







Foursquare

Note: Most popular location-based application, recently hit 10 million users (June 2011) and 1 billion check-ins (September 2011)




Gowalla

Note: Originally check-in focused, Gowalla recently changed strategy to focus more on travel guide and storytelling functionality




SCVNGR

Note: While supporting check-ins, SCVNGR has additional “challenges” at each location, and also incorporates scavenger hunt-like capability. Some additional unique features such as “social check-in”




Facebook Places

Note: Launched in August 2010, but revamped in August 2011 – the mobile-only Places feature was “phased out” and replaced with ability to add location to anything (status update, wall post, etc)

Source: https://blog.facebook.com/blog.php?post=10150251867797131




Yelp

Note: Reviews are the core feature in Yelp. Check-ins were a later add-on.




Some additional location-based applications:

Photo-based– Instagram– Color– Path

Food/drink-based– Foodspotting– Untappd

Deals– Groupon (based on acquisition of LBS app Whrrl)– Shopkick (passive check-in)

Other– Glympse– Google Latitude– Find My Friends (iPhone 4S)



Location-based Apps for Personal Use


Location-based Apps – Personal Use




1. It’s social! Find your friends, keep in touch with them, interact with them (photos, comments, etc), even meet new people

2. It’s fun! Many location-based apps have a “game layer” component to them, including things like:1. Badges2. Points competition3. Venue “ownership” – which as it turns out is quite a powerful motivator

3. It’s helpful! Some location-based apps provide reviews, tips, or even features to help guide you based on your location and/or your social graph

4. Deals! Most location-based apps are offering their own deals, and some (e.g. Foursquare) are starting to incorporate external deals such as Groupon


Why do people do this?



Oversharing– Same reason that some people aren’t interested in Twitter

Barrier is too high– Difficulty finding the venue in the app– Technical complexity– Forgetting to check in

Privacy– “Please rob me” syndrome – many misconceptions– Don’t want to share where I am with/what I’m doing with the world– Don’t want to share where I am/what I’m doing with my friends


Why don’t people do this?



Foursquare– Currently have ~15,800 check-ins

Foursquare API apps– Forecast– Untappd– Hashable– Gatsby– Sonar– Localmind

SCVNGR– Also mobile payment/deals app LevelUp


So what apps do I use?



Location-based Apps for Business Use


Location-based Apps – Business Use




1. Customer service via engagement

2. Enhance/encourage brand loyalty

3. Marketing by promoting your business

4. Discounts/deals for customers

5. Data/analytics about your business


What are benefits for businesses?

This is a huge topic, can’t cover it all here – I’ll instead tell a few stories



Burger joint in Milwaukee

February 2010 – Hosted a “Swarm Party” – if > 50 people checked in, they would get Foursquare’s Swarm Badge


Case Study:AJ Bombers/Foursquare

Source: http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/5879/Restaurant-Uses-Foursquare-and-a-Boat-to-Hit-Sales-Record.aspx

Promoted primarily via Facebook and Twitter

161 people showed up!

More than doubled Sunday sales – 110% increase for the day!

Additional promotion via sharing on social media – Facebook, Twitter, blogs, YouTube, etc.



Chain with > 700 locations

January-March 2011 – Customers completed challenges to win prizes such as free wings and Coke, plus a grand prize of trip to the NBA finals


Case Study:Buffalo Wild Wings/SCVNGR

Source: http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/5879/Restaurant-Uses-Foursquare-and-a-Boat-to-Hit-Sales-Record.aspx

Strengthened the brand as a place to watch March Madness games – using a game!

Leadership board featured the top players

184,000 people played over just 12 weeks!

100 million social impressions via Facebook and Twitter!

1 in 3 users played multiple times



Link credit card with Foursquare account

Users check-in at the store and click “Load to Card” to get the deal

First retailers: H&M, Sports Authority


Case Study:American Express/Foursquare

Bypasses the problem of sales staff not knowing how to handle the special – no interaction needed at point of sale, just use the credit card

“We go to where our customers are and our customers are on places like foursquare.” -- Amex Chairman Edward Gilligan

No info yet on success of campaign?



Boloco – Foursquare “Mayor Mondays”, LevelUp

Radio Shack – “Users who unlock specials spend 350% more than the average customer”

Tasti-D-lite – Foursquare via kiosk

Dunkin Donuts – SCVNGR-based contest

Princeton MarketFair parking space


Other ideas/unique case studies:



Questions? Discussion topics?

Documents

ABCs of LBS