Q2 2014

MOBILE ADVERTISINGS
GUIDE TO LOCATION
ACCURACY
LOCATION
SCORE

INDEX
THIS REPORT FOCUSES ON HELPING
MARKETERS UNDERSTAND:
The current state of
location data quality in
the mobile ecosystem
How location data is
generated
The impact of accurate
location data on
campaign performance
INTRODUCING LOCATION SCORE

: THE FIRST TOOL TO

MEASURE LOCATION ACCURACY IN MOBILE ADVERTISING
Location is front and center in the mobile industry and the pace of technological change
has been amazing. First-generation geofences have been replaced with advanced prox-
imity targeting, as well as location-driven audience targeting and behavioral retargeting.
Location is solving the mobile cookie dilemma, and continued improvements in location
data will deliver an even greater supply of targeting opportunities.
In 2012, approximately 10% of all ad requests contained location data, while in 2014
the number is closer to 67%. As advertiser demand for location data has grown, so too
has the number of publishers, ad networks, and other inventory sources willing to share
location data. But, is this ood of new location data good for the industry? It all depends
on the quality of the data.
Accurate targeting is reliant on accurate location data. This report seeks to help
marketers understand the state of the industry in terms of the quality of location data.
The goal of the Location Score Index is to provide transparency and understanding to
the marketers who will inuence the direction of mobile marketing. The quality of
location data will continue to improve and we hope this report helps to educate and
accelerate the pace of change.
LOCATION
ACCURACY
MATTERS
There are enormous opportunities in mobile but as marketers, we are
constantly evaluating tools to help us get to the best data possible. Location
Score helps us to be smarter, ROI driven buyers and will help accelerate the
industry to move towards more accurate location data.
Amit Shah, VP of Marketing, 1-800-Flowers.com
2 Location Score Index Q2 2014
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@Thinknear
DATA POINTS PULLED FROM MOBILE CAMPAIGN TARGETING SPECIFIC LOCATIONS WITHIN THE DALLAS/FORT WORTH DMA, Q2 2014.
STATED USER LOCATIONS AT LEFT REPRESENT THE STATED USER LOCATION PER THE AD REQUEST. ACTUAL USER LOCATIONS AT RIGHT
REPRESENT THE TRUE USER LOCATION AT TIME OF AD REQUEST BASED ON REAL-TIME COLLECTION OF USER LOCATION DATA.
STATED USER LOCATIONS ACTUAL USER LOCATIONS
Senior-level marketers are seeking more
transparency and a better understanding
of data quality related to location-based
marketing. With this report, Thinknear
announces the launch of Location Score,
the rst technology designed to give mar-
keters deep insight into the quality and
accuracy of the location data used in
mobile campaigns.
The technology will provide marketers with
a transparent and objective measurement
tool that will enable more accurate target-
ing and better consumer experiences with
location-based advertising.
The technology is also the power behind
this report, the inaugural edition of the
Location Score Index. The Location Score
Index is a summary of the overall state of
location for the mobile industry. Marketers
know that data quality can vary signi-
cantly, and it is our goal to help marketers
understand how both accurate and inaccu-
rate location data can impact campaigns.
DEFINING LOCATION ACCURACY
Location Accuracy is dened as the prox-
imity of a users stated location per the
ad request, compared to the users actual
location in the real world. Stated vs. actual
location can vary by a matter of feet, or a
matter of miles. Identifying the users true
location is the goal of any ad network, as it
enables enhanced targeting opportunities.
METHODOLOGY
The Thinknear platform accesses the major
sources of location-enabled mobile inven-
tory in the U.S. To compile this report, we
sampled and analyzed data from over 3.5
billion publisher ad requests, 53 million ad
impressions and have run location accuracy
tests on over 20,000 consumer ad experi-
ences. Our analysis focuses specically on:
o
Quantifying the volume of ad requests
that include both high-quality and
low-quality location data
o
Measuring the accuracy of location
data with regard to the stated vs.
actual location of a mobile user
o
Quantifying the impact of location
accuracy on mobile campaigns
INTRODUCING LOCATION SCORE

AND
THE LOCATION SCORE INDEX

LOCATION ACCURACY REFERS TO THE PROXIMITY OF A USERS STATED LOCATION PER AN AD

REQUEST COMPARED TO THE USERS TRUE LOCATION IN THE REAL WORLD. THINKNEAR FOUND
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES IN LOCATION ACCURACY THROUGHOUT THE INDUSTRY, PROMPTING THE
CREATION OF THE LOCATION SCORE INDEX.
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@Thinknear 3 Location Score Index Q2 2014
49
LOCATION SCORE

VOLUME BY ACCURACY LEVEL

34% HYPER LOCAL
Location data was accurate to within 100
meters of the users true real-time location.
9% LOCAL
Location data was accurate between
100 and 1,000 meters of the users true
real-time location.
30% REGIONAL
Location data was accurate between
1,000 and 10,000 meters of the users
true real-time location.
20% MULTI-REGIONAL
Location data was accurate between
10,000 and 100,000 meters of the
users true real-time location.
7% NATIONAL
Location data was not accurate within
100,000 meters of the users true
real-time location.
OUT OF 100
Weve seen that the quality of location data makes a signicant impact on
campaign performance. Location Score is a great tool that will help us ensure
the targeting is accurate and that performance is optimized for our clients.
Alex Richter, Camelot Strategic Marketing & Media
BY OPERATING SYSTEM
51 ANDROID
48 iOS
BY POPULATION DENSITY
50 URBAN
44 RURAL
INDUSTRY AVERAGE
LOCATION SCORE
4 Location Score Index Q2 2014
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@Thinknear
Location Score is governed by the simple principle that accurately knowing a mobile
users location to within a matter of meters is much more valuable than knowing her
location by zip code or region. Scoring is a simple 0100 point scale, where a higher
score indicates a more accurate level of location accuracy.
Every ad request that passes location data has its own score. Highly accurate requests
are scored higher than requests with low accuracy. However, the scoring scale is not lin-
ear. The ability for marketers to leverage advanced location targeting tools is dependent
on high quality location data and therefore, scores grow exponentially as they become
more accurate. A score of 100 would indicate the users actual location is within 100
meters of the stated location per the ad request, 100% of the time.
Based on our analysis, the industry score of 49 indicates there is a very broad spectrum
of quality in the mobile ecosystem. We found some inventory sources to be relatively
accurate (scoring in the high 70s), while other inventory sources were extremely inaccu-
rate (scoring in the low 20s).
Further, there was also a broad range of location quality by app. Certain apps provided
high-quality location data while others consistently provided poor location data.
Over time, we expect the Location Score Index will show improvement in industry-wide
location accuracy. Publishers, networks, and other inventory sources will gain a better
understanding of location technology, and marketers will demand more granular report-
ing. App developers with accurate location data will monetize better and thrive.
Location Score varies slightly by
density of population. In urban
areas where there are many more
Wi-Fi and cell tower signals, it is
actually easier to accurately iden-
tify a users location. Location
Score was 14% higher in urban
areas than in rural areas.
We found that Location Score did
not vary signicantly by operat-
ing system. Both Android and
iOS operating systems performed
consistently in terms of overall
location accuracy.
INTERPRETING THE
RESULTS
DESPITE A LOW OVERALL
SCORE FOR THE INDUSTRY,
HIGH QUALITY LOCATION DATA
IS AVAILABLE AND ACCESSIBLE
WITH THE RIGHT TOOLS.
5 Location Score Index Q2 2014
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@Thinknear
NOT ALL LOCATION
DATA IS CREATED
EQUAL. TO GET THE
MOST OUT OF YOUR
MOBILE ADVERTISING
DOLLAR, ITS CRITICAL
TO UNDERSTAND HOW
LOCATION DATA IS
COLLECTED
Most marketers are just beginning to
understand the complexity of mobile
data. The location ecosystem can be
difcult to navigate, but its important
for marketers to know the sources and
relevant levels of quality associated
with mobile location data.
While the growth in available data is
conceptually a good thing, the prob-
lem is that growth often comes at the
expense of quality. App publishers
understand that location data results
in higher eCPMs and better moneti-
zation rates. Therefore, app develop-
ers are incentivized to include location
data in their ad requests, regardless of
the source and accuracy of the data.
The problem facing the industry is that
app developers are not location experts,
and the data being passed to adver-
tisers is often of very low quality. The
result is that a mobile users true loca-
tion is often very different from the app
developers stated location for the user.
This impacts targeting, mobile creative,
mobile content, and the overall engage-
ment experience between advertisers
and consumers.
67% OF AD REQUESTS
INCLUDE LOCATION DATA,
BUT ONLY 34% OF THOSE
REQUESTS ARE ACCURATE TO
WITHIN 100 METERS OF THE
MOBILE USERS LOCATION.
App developers know that sharing location data improves monetization, and they have
several methods of collecting location data. Some methods, such as GPS, are more dif-
cult to collect consistently, but produce very accurate location data. Methods such as IP
address lookup and registration data are much less accurate. Regardless of the source,
the data is typically translated into a set of latitude and longitude coordinates that are
passed to the advertiser. It is very difcult for the advertiser to assess the quality and
accuracy of the data without the help of a location expert.
LOCATION DATA IN THE
MOBILE ECOSYSTEM
MOST RELIABLE
GPS satellites maintain a constant orbit around the
earth, sending signals to the ground allowing a
smartphone to calculate location within a few feet
under optimal conditions.
A-GPS can be a battery drain, so developers choose
other solutions. Additionally, weather and building
interference can reduce effectiveness.
LEAST RELIABLE
A-GPS
Assisted Global Positioning System
1
3
Cell towers are typically three-sided with a transmitter
on each side. Location accuracy to within of a square
mile is possible when three towers are present and
there is no interference.
When a user has coverage from a single cell tower, or
even two towers, the location approximation can range
over many miles. Building interference can also
reduce accuracy.
CELL TOWERS
Its typical practice for an app developer to ask a user
to share their postal code or home city when registering
for an app. The app developer then pinpoints the center
point of that geographic region.
Real-time location data is effectively always wrong
for this type of location information.
USER REGISTRATION
2
4
5
A devices location can be approximated
using its IP address as assigned by the
network operator; however, in terms of
identifying the true location of the user
using standard network techniques,
its almost universally wrong.
IP
Nearly all Wi-Fi connection points have
been mapped to a location, so depending
upon the availability of Wi-Fi networks,
triangulation within 10 to 100 meters is
relatively easy.
The downside: Users are not always near a
network, or they may simply have turned off
the phones Wi-Fi.
WI-FI
Regardless of source used, location
data is typically translated into
latitude and longitude.
6 Location Score Index Q2 2014
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@Thinknear
Accurate data means accurate tar-
geting. If advertisers are reaching
the wrong audience, performance
will suffer. Location also impacts
user experience. Most mobile cre-
ative involves some level of dynamic
content, which allows marketers to
incorporate local context into the
ads they serve. Poor location data
makes for a poor user experience.
Accurate location data impacts
performance in a variety of ways.
Preferred performance metrics in
mobile vary by brand, agency and
vertical, but marketers have contin-
ued the move away from CTR as the
dening KPI. Brands are increas-
ingly considering engagement met-
rics such as store visit lift, time-on-
site and post-click conversions.
LOCATION ACCURACY
DRIVES PERFORMANCE
LOCATION IMPACTS TIME-ON-SITE
We found that time-on-site for mobile campaign landing pages improved dramatically for
the highest scoring location data as compared to the lowest scoring location data, providing
further evidence that location context plays a key role in consumer engagement.
GETTING CUSTOMERS TO THE STORE
For brick & mortar marketers, driving store visits is another typical KPI. We found that store
visitation rates (the lift in store visits from mobile advertising) increased substantially when
high-quality location data was used. Store visitation lift improved 30%51% when compar-
ing the use of top-tier location data vs. bottom-tier location data.
LIFT IN STORE VISITATION BY LOCATION SCORE TIER
RETAIL VERTICAL RESTAURANT VERTICAL
THIRD-PARTY REVIEW OF LOCATION ACCURACY
Thinknear has partnered with Placed, Inc. to validate the performance impact of accurate
location data on store visitation rates. Placed is an independent third party partner and
manages the largest opt-in mobile user panel on the globe.
I
N
D
E
X
E
D

L
I
F
T
TOP TIER
LOCATION SCORE
TOP TIER
LOCATION SCORE
INDUSTRY AVG
LOCATION SCORE
INDUSTRY AVG
LOCATION SCORE
In working with Thinknear,
Placed has directly measured
a clear correlation between
accuracy of location and in-
store visitation. Thinknears
Location Score provides
a metric to advertisers
to quantify the quality of
location as it relates to their
mobile ad campaigns.
David Shim, CEO, Placed
1.10
1.00
0.90
0.80
0.70
1.60
1.40
1.20
1.00
0.80
I
N
D
E
X
E
D

L
I
F
T
BOTTOM QUARTILE
LOCATION SCORE
INDUSTRY AVERAGE
TOP QUARTILE
LOCATION SCORE
45% LIFT FROM
BOTTOM QUARTILE
TO TOP QUARTILE OF
LOCATION SCORE
LIFT IN TIME-ON-SITE BY LOCATION SCORE
0.75
1.00 1.00
1.08
1.30
1.51
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@Thinknear 7 Location Score Index Q2 2014
Location Score is the rst step in providing the mobile industry with an
understanding of the importance of location accuracy and the impact on
marketers. The good news is that there is an enormous amount of high
quality location data available in the ecosystem.
Thinknear is focused on building the tools and platform needed to
ensure that brands have access to extremely accurate data with high
Location Scores. Better data correlates with higher conversions across
the metrics that matter most and the industry will continue to improve
and expand over time.
Marketers should focus on nding sources of high quality location data
and using location to its fullest potential to help brands connect with
consumers on their mobile devices. The results will include higher con-
dence surrounding the targeting data and better performing campaigns.
Location Score was designed to help marketers build and deliver better
mobile campaigns. Transparency and measurement are key factors in
growing the mobile industry and Thinknear is committed to delivering
tools to improve mobile marketing.
THE FUTURE OF
LOCATION ACCURACY
EVEN WITH THE LARGE AMOUNT OF INACCURATE
DATA IN THE INDUSTRY, THERE IS AN INCREDIBLE
AMOUNT OF HIGH QUALITY LOCATION DATA
AVAILABLE TO MARKETERS.
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@Thinknear 8 Location Score Index Q2 2014
Thinknear is a location technology company and full-service mobile advertising
network focused on delivering amazing advertising campaigns for agencies, brands
and consumers. Thinknears platform delivers the accuracy, scale and technology
required to effectively leverage mobile location data to power better consumer
experiences. In mobile, precision matters, and as a division of Telenav, Thinknear
leverages exclusive access to over 14 years of proprietary location data. To learn
more, please visit www.thinknear.com and follow @thinknear on Twitter.
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