Location may play a part
Technology currently found in mobile phones and handheld computers makes it difficult to determine precisely where a person is located. But executives say WBI may soon be paired with location-based technology to determine where customers are when they check email, download software or purchase items from Web sites. By the end of the year, advertisements could be targeted according to where people are located at a specific moment, whether they are commuting to work or travelling far from home.
"Eventually we will be able to provide location-based data analysis," said John Samuel, director of product planning and new business development for DigiMine. "The new 911 location technology makes us optimistic about that opportunity."
According to regulations passed last year by the Federal Communications Commission, wireless carriers have until Oct. 1 to begin selling new mobile phones that provide emergency operators a wireless caller's phone number and nearest mobile site. According to the new rule, all phones sold after Dec. 31, 2002, must be equipped with emergency location technology.
That makes some analysts nervous that DigiMine's corporate clients could use the data to spam people--sending unsolicited email or advertisements--with targeted ads whenever their devices are turned on. They envision a scenario where an individual's handheld computer flashes a coupon for a half-price espresso shot at Starbucks precisely as the person is intentionally walking toward a competing café.
DigiMine and Telephia, which are partnering on the WBI initiative, say they do not intend their data to be fodder for spam-happy marketers. In fact, they say, customers would be able to turn on or off any sort of location-based promotion.
They say the targeted analysis means that consumers will be the target of fewer ads that are better suited to an individual's desires, not an overwhelming cascade of blanket ads for a general audience. Others say it could help detect fraud based on non-conforming behaviour of someone who steals a mobile phone or handheld computer.
