Last week I gave a little keynote at the NYC launch of the Location Based Marketing Association as part of InternetWeek.
The visual aids are above.
The title is something I find myself saying a lot, one which ultimately stems, I assume, from my laziness, but can probably be expanded to a larger point.
Proximity is a virtue because, even in world flattened by the Internets, things that are nearby are more vaulable, useful, important, most of the time.
In the obvious sense that if I want or need something, nearby is usually better.
But also in the sense that proximity is hugely influential driver of behavior and decision making.
The biggest influences on you are the people you spend the most time with - usually the people you work with.
Behavior is 'socially contagious' within certain parameters.
The environment you are in is itself both a powerful driver of influence and a good indicator of context.
Then I go on to consider what Location Based Marketing might actually be - since it should probably include posters as well as geolocative mobile advertising.
[If there is, in fact, a difference.]
I liked finding the fact that the founder of COLOR said
"their first iteration is about proximity. They want to understand who you're with"
[which makes me ponder why they decided to call it COLOR, and not, say, PROXIMITY.]
And I finished up touching on the digital exhaust stuff I was talking about below.
THE LBMA makes a distinction between Location Based Services, like Foursquare, and location based marketing, as well they should.
But my final example, the BMW EVolve application we created, is a location based service that is also marketing.
I think.
