Swirl has announced its creation of the first proximity-based, programatic in-store marketing network using beacon technology. The new marketing space is still being created but will allow retailers and advertisers to deliver targeted mobile content while consumers are still in the store.
With marketers all abuzz about beacons, mobile technology company Swirl Networks said it has created the first programmatic ad exchange for proximity-based in store mobile marketing.
The Swirl Ad Exchange, or SWx, is intended to serve as a platform for retailers and brands to reach consumers with highly relevant content and offers delivered to their smartphones while they shop in participating retail locations nationwide. For the first time, brand advertisers will be able to directly engage with in-store mobile shoppers in an entirely automated way, wherever their products are sold, according to Swirl.
"Today, brands spend over $60 billion a year on traditional, mainly paper-based, in-store marketing and promotions," said Hilmi Ozguc, founder and CEO of Swirl. "With the powerful new capabilities of SWx, retailers can now easily set up and run private digital exchanges for their brand partners to access the most valuable ad inventory imaginable: in-store shoppers using their smartphones in specific aisles, about to make a purchase decision."
According to Ozguc, the industry is at the beginning of what will be a massive transformation in how leading brands and retailers engage with and influence shoppers in physical environments. That's because beacon technology in store is giving marketers new ways to engage with shoppers and activate purchase behavior with shoppers who have opted in to store networks.
Using SWx, retailers can establish their own highly secure, private ad exchanges, granting select brand advertisers permission to engage with shoppers through their beacon network. Participating brand advertisers are able to deliver targeted mobile content and offers directly to in-store shoppers in a low friction, fully automated way, according to Swirl. With more than two-thirds of consumers already using their smartphones while they shop, these beacon-triggered mobile experiences allow retailers and brands to influence consumers at the moment purchasing decisions are being made.
With SWx, retailers create and control access to in-store mobile marketing opportunities, while brand advertisers are able to programmatically discover, purchase and manage campaigns at beacons located in specific departments or aisles of retailers nationwide.
Read more from the source: retailingtoday.com