Dive Brief:
- Google acquired Urban Engines, which will become part of the Google Maps team.
- Urban Engines has a technology called “urban OS” that the company describes as an intelligent software overlay for the real world.
- From a company blog post: “Location analytics is an important focus for both Urban Engines and Google, and we’re excited to combine forces to help organizations better understand how the world moves. There’s a lot we look forward to building together, and we can’t wait to show you what’s next.”
Dive Insight:
One of the game changing elements of mobile marketing is geolocation. Just having the device on a person is huge, but when a marketer can combine that access with knowledge about where the device is at any point in time means marketing can now combine the online and offline experience for the audience. This can be as simple as offering on-time coupons or offers based on where someone might be, or even more cutting-edge use cases with augmented reality elements added to location-based campaigns.
Urban Engines’ latest tech is called Warp and uses algorithms and cloud computing to understand and optimize traffic flow, a goal that Google Maps has been actively seeking.
As Google strives to maintain its leadership role in mobile marketing, location is becoming an increasingly important part of the formula. While the company already has a leading mapping platform, being able to understand where, when and how consumers are engaging with maps and providing meaningful insights to marketers is a must-have.
