By inquiring specifically about business visits, and peppering a
list of possible responses with intentionally false choices, Placed
aims to validate location data that sometimes may be faulty. From
there, the firm evaluates which consumer demographics under- or
over-index for visiting particular businesses.
"Because you're in a panel we can ask you where were you Tuesday
at 4pm," said Placed CEO David Shim. The company can also show
clients which other businesses panel members visited. The company
gathers 1,000 latitude and longitude coordinates per panel member
each day, said Mr. Shim.
"We're able to actually understand who went to a store," said
Sarah Hodkinson, head of Marketing for PayPal Media Network.
PayPal acquired mobile ad network Where, the precursor to its
PayPal Media Network, in 2011. Today, the location-centric ad
network layers in data on purchases made using PayPal for
targeting. For instance, advertiser client 1-800-Flowers analyzed
existing customers to determine an aggregated profile of its ideal
customer based on the categories of places people shopped and
patterns of purchases made with PayPal, then built models to find
others in the PayPal network who fit the criteria.
The ad net also uses third-party data like flight information or
weather reports. Based on flight delay data, a travel firm might
geographically-target ads to people in certain airports.
Customers can use the PayPal mobile app for transactions in
places including Home Depot and countless
mom-and-pop stores and restaurants.
Though its clients have yet to employ it, PayPal can tie
retailer data such as CRM data to mobile ads to determine whether
someone actually made a purchase after being served an ad. In
addition to connecting PayPal app purchases to its ad network ads,
the company could link in-store purchases through an email address
or another identifier captured at a store," said Ms. Hodkinson
"There's definitely a desire for retailers to do it, but not
many of them are savvy enough," said Ms. Hodkinson regarding using
CRM data for ad targeting.
When advertiser clients get PayPal reports, the information
doesn't include personally-identifiable information, and is
provided at an aggregated level, she said.
