Partners + Insights Series with Foursquare: Using location data

Last week we invited Foursquare to the stage for our second Partners + Insights Series! Ariel Segal, Director, Insights and Analytics at Foursquare shared the top trends around location data during the current COVID-19 climate, and how to strategically use location to plan, reach and measure media buys.  

In order to effectively target audiences, you need to first understand them. Analyzing behavioral insights with location data helps marketers do just that. 

Foursquare’s capabilities allow marketers to understand behaviors and patterns while also identifying the consumers behind those trends, and then measure offline attribution. For TV, this is no different. Marketers can now see the effect their investments have in driving customers to visit their locations – influencing sales! 

MOVING TV FORWARD 

When our VP, Marketing, Meridith Miller, asked Ariel how Foursquare is ‘moving TV forward’ she replied: “By following a data driven approach to reach TV audiences and measure the impact of TV advertising.” 

Foursquare is following daily foot traffic to understand the impact of COVID-19 on businesses: 

 TOP TRENDS 

• How businesses recover will vary by audience, region and place type. Places like movie theaters, gyms and retail shops have seen major declines because their alternatives can be easily accessed online (TV and OTT streaming, home fitness and mobile apps, online shopping and delivery) 
• Personal care businesses may be the first category to recover. Georgia saw a huge uptick in foot traffic at spas, salons and gyms when the state recently reopened some businesses.  
• Restaurant takeout and drive-through eateries have become increasingly popular since late February and project to remain that way. 

• Consumers are on the road again: gas stations, auto dealers and auto shops have seen increases in foot traffic. Yet, proximity matters, as consumers are traveling less distance from home to business than pre-COVID.  
• Grocery, hardware and home improvement stores have seen large increases particularly around the early mornings, leading that consumers may be trying to avoid high traffic hours. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS 

• Brands can adapt to changing consumer behaviors. They can, “modify messaging to align with their current preferences, whether it’s highlighting delivery services or e-commerce options,” Ariel explained. “For the people that are going out again, it’s about reaching them in real-time to help them discover what they’re looking for.” 
• Advertisers can grow sales through foot traffic by analyzing correlations between sales and visitation data. 

• Through mobile location data advertisers can measure exposure to TV ads on CTV, OTT or any other TV device and quantify whether that person is more likely to visit a fine location after having been exposed to that ad. Foursquare can report on several metrics: creative placement, demographic, or the region to see where the most impact is and allow brands to optimize in real time. 

As business and social distancing restrictions vary by state and county, a hyper-local media response is even more critical to reaching the right audience with the right message. “Proximity is more important than today than ever before as consumers are spending more time at home,” Ariel explained. 

Tune into the full session here for all the shared insights, including details on which mobile apps Foursquare is embedded in, and the technology that powers these insights to help you plan your media buy, and reach and measure your audiences! 

Register for our next two Partners + Insights sessions here! 

May 21st: VAB – Danielle Delauro, EVP  

May 28th: KANTAR – Stephen DiMarco, US Chief Digital Officer

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