ADMAVEN - The Interactive Advertising Blog - Latest Comments in Google Latitude Has Great Advertising Potential

Re: Google Latitude Has Great Advertising Potential

Stephen Byrne — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 16:02:25 -0000

Nick, in reality people will really want to open themselves to something like Latitude? Privacy is not the issue. It's got to be a two way street. Users have to see a return as well. Marketers and their agencies need to be cognizant of this.

Re: Google Latitude Has Great Advertising Potential

Kristin Maverick — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 16:42:57 -0000

I definitely see how this could work for advertising. For example, I participated in the very fun Blackberry Storm Scavenger Hunt from Verizon here in NYC. You picked up a map of locations of Storms and then went to surrounding locations to get a code to text to Verizon for submission.

Latitiude could have added an extra boost to the campaign had this service been around when they did it. You could have seen where the locations were right on your phone.

Otherwise, I'm sticking to my thoughts on it being creepy for personal use.

Re: Google Latitude Has Great Advertising Potential

Sandy Manisco Brillowski — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 15:10:43 -0000

Maybe Latitude's whimsical character could be a bird (birdseye view) or an eyeball! LOL I'd love to see my credit union's surcharge free network as little dots on Latitude. Come to think of it, that would work well on Google Maps too.

Re: Google Latitude Has Great Advertising Potential

Nicholas Kinports — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 12:01:49 -0000

Thanks for your comment Stuart - I was just having a conversation with some agency-folk about how imposing and complex technologies often use whimsical branding to lure consumers. For example, Met Life uses Snoopy, Geico has a gecko, and Twitter has chirpy birds and the Fail Whale.

If Google were branded differently, technologies like Latitude may not seem so scary and intrusive to consumers. Time will tell!

Re: Google Latitude Has Great Advertising Potential

Stuart Newton — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 11:13:43 -0000

Like you've suggested there are certain benefits that could come of this excellent mobile software; it could notify you of offers in stores as you walk by or perhaps allow researchers to build an accurate consumer shopping map? Who knows!

Personally I have too many privacy issues with the software at the moment (even though I probably fall into the techno-generation Sandy mentioned), but guess we'll have to see if the public embrace it and any problems that arise from its use.

http://stuartnewton.wordpre...

Re: Google Latitude Has Great Advertising Potential

Nicholas Kinports — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 17:37:12 -0000

Sandy,

I am seriously considering another entire article covering the subject of generational privacy in technology and how advertising is bridging the gap. Thanks for the comment - and your point is well taken - anything that makes technology friendly and familiar is a win for everyone!

Re: Google Latitude Has Great Advertising Potential

Sandy Manisco Brillowski — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 17:20:49 -0000

Privacy concerns seem to go hand-in-hand with interactive technology and yet younger generations embrace it, to the surprise of their elders. Are the skeptics just getting old? Is it the generation gap, or is it that we don't want our spouses to know where we are?

If the technology offers some other benefit (like alerting you to the nearest Starbucks!) then it's likely to be embraced by all, and provide a new advertising media, too. Cool.

Re: Google Latitude Has Great Advertising Potential

Nicholas Kinports — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 12:50:56 -0000

There are certainly privacy issues involved in location tracking services - but from the perspective of an advertiser any information we can get about a consumer is good!

Thanks for your comment, and I love the whole "Positive Take On..." theme!

Re: Google Latitude Has Great Advertising Potential

PositiveTakeOn — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 10:21:05 -0000

It is great to see that you are focusing on the things that are really great about Google Latitude, like the way it will connect the off/online words more closely and allow for deeper interaction between brands and their fans.

It's great because everybody else seems to be focused on the negative side of this product like privacy issues, which granted, need to be take into consideration, however essentially Latitude is a brilliant concept and is a smart product to use.