Brief:

• Emodo, the mobile ad platform run by telecom technology giant Ericsson, introduced a software tool that uses cellular carrier data to verify mobile audiences before marketers bid for an ad placement through programmatic platforms. Emodo Audiences uses location data to pre-verify mobile audiences and ad inventory to avoid imprecisions that could lead to billions of dollars in wasted ad spend, per a press release shared with Mobile Marketer.
• Paul Cheng, general manager at Ericsson Emodo, said the service gives marketers flexibility in creating highly targeted audience segments by verifying campaigns against a "truth set" of location data from carriers. He told AdExchanger that the location information is 100% accurate because it comes from cell towers that are in continual contact with mobile devices.
• Emodo Audiences complies with privacy regulations, such as the European Union's new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), because the data about mobile users are anonymized. Emodo doesn't sell the data or provide access to information that could identify an individual mobile user, AdExchanger reported.

Insight:

Inaccurate audience data is a major problem for marketers seeking to get the best ROI on their mobile campaigns, especially on programmatic platforms that are becoming more predominant for ad placements. One-third (34%) of digital marketers in North America reported that inaccurate location data is the leading challenge to their mobile ad campaigns, slightly ahead of combining mobile location with other customer data and lack of clarity on the sources of location data, according to a Forrester study cited by eMarketer.

Emodo aims to tackle the problem of inaccurate location information by combining a variety of data sources. The two main sources of location data are from devices' GPS sensors and from cellular networks, which need accurate information to provide reliable cell service to people. While GPS data are very precise, they aren't always accurate because of the infrequency of updates. Carrier data are completely accurate, but not necessarily precise, Emodo's Cheng told AdExchanger. Cell phone companies collect data on as many as 600 events a day for each mobile device to ensure accuracy, according to the press release.

Emodo uses technology developed by Placecast, a location ad tech company Emodo acquired in February, to validate the accuracy of other data sources. The service relies on carrier data from Sprint's Pinsight Media to confirm the precise placement of mobile ads so that advertisers can ensure their marketing messages reach the right audience.

Cell phone companies tend to be highly regulated, especially with how they protect user privacy. Emodo relies on advertising IDs that don't reveal personally identifiable information about a user, which helps to allay privacy concerns. The company's goal is to create a database of mobile users that protects their privacy while using carrier subscriber information that publishers and marketers can use for ad targeting or for checking the quality of their own data.