SMG to Track How Mobile Ads Lead to In-store Visits

Starcom MediaVest Group has partnered with New York City-based startup PlaceIQ to unlock mobile marketing's great mystery: when someone shown a mobile banner ad is enticed to walk into a store.

The metric, which PlaceIQ calls Place Visit Rate, uses location data to illustrate what percentage of customers served a mobile banner ad for a retailer subsequently visited one of that retailer's stores. PlaceIQ conducted a case study on the technology for one of SMG's retail clients that showed a correlation between customers being a shown an ad and ending up in store. Neither PlaceIQ or SMG would disclose which retailer was involved. SMG's retail clients include Best Buy and Walmart.