Location-based mobile advertising trial yields strong returns for Best Western via NAVTEQ LocationPoint Advertising

This article is brought to you by Retail Technology Review: Location-based mobile advertising trial yields strong returns for Best Western via NAVTEQ LocationPoint Advertising.

NAVTEQ, provider of maps, traffic and location data enabling navigation, location-based services and mobile advertising around the world, has announced the results of its first location-based mobile ad services campaign in Germany. That campaign featured ads from global hotelier Best Western delivered via NAVTEQ LocationPoint Advertising to mobile German consumers using Nokia Ovi Map-enabled smart phones.

Available in the US and successfully deployed in trials in other parts of Europe, NAVTEQ's LocationPoint Advertising harnesses NAVTEQ's location content and capabilities to pinpoint where mobile consumers are, deliver ads and calls to action within close proximity to advertised points of purchase, and guide them to the merchant's doorstep. Built-in calls to action, including 'click to call', 'click to web', and 'click to map', bolster consumer engagement with ads and drive traffic to advertised locations.

The exclusive advertiser in the month-long location-based campaign, the first of its kind in Germany, featured Best Western ads sent to on-the-go consumers of Nokia Ovi Map-enabled phones as they approached one of Best Western's 180 properties throughout Germany. The ads enticed consumers with an offer to receive 30% discounts when those users booked early at a Best Western property. The campaign garnered a click-through rate of 1.44%--more than seven times the 0.19 average of online banner ads, according to Forrester Research. Fifteen percent of all consumers who clicked on the initial ad requested mapping information to the local Best Western property, signaling NAVTEQ's LocationPoint Advertising power to convert clicks to paying customers.

"Hotel users by definition are in areas with which they're not familiar," said Alexander Birk, Manager, E-Commerce Best Western Hotels Germany. "NAVTEQ LocationPoint provides an effective advertising channel to target those mobile consumers when they're looking for accommodations in unfamiliar areas or are within a short distance from a Best Western property. It's an elegant way to extend a more personal, relevant invitation for those consumers to become our guests."

"One of the reasons traditional brands have been slow to embrace new media like mobile is because it has been difficult to prove ROI," said Christopher Rothey, vice president, advertising, NAVTEQ. "This Best Western trial validates the promise of NAVTEQ LocationPoint Advertising to brick and mortar businesses, such as hotels, retail stores, and restaurants, which seek to drive consumers in their doors--and do it in ways that can be measured to show proof of return on investment."

About NAVTEQ NAVTEQ is a provider of maps, traffic and location data (digital location content) enabling navigation, location-based services and mobile advertising around the world. NAVTEQ supplies comprehensive digital location content to power automotive navigation systems, portable and wireless devices, Internet-based mapping applications and government and business solutions. The Chicago-based company was founded in 1985 and has approximately 4700 employees located in 204 offices in 46 countries.