Telefónica looks for micro-location sweet spot

Telefónica International Wholesale Services has unveiled new service known as Marketing Campaigns Manager, which will allow MNOs to tailor customer offers based on location.

This is not a new idea, but one which fell pretty flat the first time around. Marketing Campaigns Manager will allow MNOs to use the location of a customer’s device to push various deals and promotions depending on the context. It was once considered mobile spam which infuriated many users, but now we are generally more open to push-notifications so the initiative does offer better prospects, but let’s this doesn’t turn into an irritation once again.

“Marketing Campaigns Manager is an essential tool which will empower mobile operators to create stronger engagement with their subscribers and ultimately capture new revenue streams,” said Juan Carlos Bernal, CEO of Telefónica International Wholesale Services. “We believe that the development of this solution reinforces our position as a one-stop provider for mobile and carrier services.”

It is a bit of a tight-rope walk, as there is a risk of becoming too intrusive while searching for new revenues. In theory, a user walking around Marks and Spencer getting a 15% off voucher for spending more than £5 wouldn’t be a bad thing, but there is the risk of going too far. The last thing any user wants is their device buzzing every 10-15 seconds as they walk down the high street and are flooded by offers from shops they have no intention of going into.

Location-based offers are only one of the use-cases which are being discussed here, but it is the one which was considered before. Others include sponsored data, loyalty rewards, silent roamers, data offers management and data sharing plans, but each will offer interaction with the user based on context, most notably location.

As mentioned, in theory it is a good idea for the battered and beaten operators to seek new revenues, but they will need to be careful not to irritate the user. The tricky bit will be trying to engage the user to update preferences so there is enough bite for the advertisers to consider such an initiative. Personally it is not the sort of thing your correspondent would be likely to sign up to. There isn’t enough faith that the MNOs won’t over-subscribe the commercial side and it becomes irritating.