xAd Launches Blueprints for Proximity Location Ad Targeting

Ad targeting specialist xAd has launched a tool called Blueprints, to deliver ads to consumers shopping near brick-and-mortar retailers, then track that those ads reached the right targets on their mobile devices and that the ads spurred shoppers to enter the advertiser's store.

Since 2009, New York-based xAd has been building technology to match relevant ads to audiences based on their location. Last year, the firm launched a visualization platform called Footprints, using real-time mobile location targeting and store visit information to help brands evaluate behavior by store, brand and other factors.

Powered by a patent-pending visual mapping algorithm, the firm's new Blueprints visualization tool gathers data from 'physical boundaries' around businesses locations, instead of using the typical circular radius positioned in proximity to a street address. Using the resulting data collected from mobile devices in and around these locations, marketers can reach consumers with relevant messages while they are shopping, and then measure whether these activities resulted in actual store visits or sales.

George Rekouts (pictured), Head of Technology Infrastructure, says: 'Place data accuracy is paramount when using location data to define audiences, or even to use as a form of attribution. Knowing the actual physical area of a store can help make the crucial determination of a consumer who visited an actual store versus just passing by.'

The firm, which last September raised $50m for possible 'strategic acquisitions', is online at www.xad.com .