The growing importance of geo-targeting in the new normal

Local targeting or geo-targeting is increasingly becoming important for brands and agencies in giving out the right message to the right place and at the right time. While a nationwide campaign can give blanket coverage, brands are now seeking a more targeted approach to reach out to their specific TG, besides there is greater emphasis on personalisation as a consumer strategy today.

The pandemic period saw a rapid transition to digital, with even traditional brands like MDH bringing on board singer-actor Diljit Dosanj as an influencer and ran a digital video campaign as part of their communication.

Moreover, brands have also increased their focus on Tier 2 and 3 markets and are looking to build a more personal connect with the regional markets. Here, geo-targeting has been playing an even bigger.

As Prashant Puri, CEO & Co-Founder, AdLift, explained, “Because digital has become the forefront of any e-commerce business or any company, targeting and sub-targeting has become a must. The pandemic has made people advertise more on digital and hence, the need for geo-targeting has also increased. For our perspective, marketing spends in this space has increased immensely.”

He added, “It allows the ads to be more personal and efficient. It also acts as a catalyst in reaching out to newer markets and building a data base of consumer profiles.”

Further highlighting the advantages of geo-targeting, Suraj Nambiar, Managing Partner & National Media Head, Tonic Worldwide, elaborated, “With limited budget, brands and marketers will now concentrate on cities and towns that are giving them better returns. If sales and consideration is the objective brands will look at markets that perform and hence, give better ROI.”

Geo-targeting definitely allows brands to create efficiency when it comes to ROI. Citing an example of how geo-targeting was used during the lockdown period, Bharat Khatri, Country Lead, Xaxis India, said, “Geo-targeting allows targeting audiences at pincode and "Latt-Long" level. For many of our FMCG brands, we took a look at their pre-COVID sales to understand where the consumption of certain category products was high. We could then use this data to identify similar pockets to then create a rise in digital through ads on digital.”

Digital has definitely been the backbone of the marketing strategy of brands during these challenging times. As digital grows further in importance, tools like geo-targeting can be the way forward for brands in reaching their desired TG.