Dive Brief:

• Jason White, director of SEO at Hertz recently told attendees at the MediaPost Search Insider Summit that he sees Google Maps’ efforts to crowdsource information from people using their phones while they sit in traffic playing a role in marketers’ efforts going forward, as reported by MediaPost.
• White expects the data to be used to determine organic search rankings in the near future and in helping marketers gain more clarity on the return on investment for social campaigns and other efforts. 
• Proximity marketing, which targets ads to mobile users within a certain distance from a business, is likely to gain steam over the next few years as a way to reengage customers who have previously visited one of its locations, White added. 

Dive Insight:

White’s comments underscore how marketers are looking to leverage location and mapping data to better understand what a consumer’s intention is based on what they are searching for on their phones. The goal is to understand what drove someone into a store so marketers can better serve ads at the time of need, like an ad for a car rental when someone is waiting to pick up their luggage after a flight.

The executive’s comments also shed light on how the location-based marketing area continues to evolve and confound marketers. The inherent value in location to enhance marketing efforts on mobile and even other channels is widely accepted although major successes are few. Beacons were a hot topic not too long ago but White commented on how the technology hasn’t worked out for local marketing. In general, marketers have been frustrated with beacons for a number of reasons, including the need for a consumer to download an app, turn on Bluetooth on their phone and accept notifications before a brand can engage.

In another example of how the value of mapping and location data continues to grow, Nissan last week agreed to share driving data collected from its cars with Mobileye — which is being acquired by Intel Corp. for $15 billion — for the crowdsourced real-time map Mobileye is building to support autonomous driving. Other partners include Volkswagen and BMW. Intel is betting heavily on mapping data as it looks to transform itself from a chip manufacturer into a more diversified data company with interests in 5G, Internet of Things and autonomous cars, per Seeking Alpha. However, it faces significant competition from Google, Apple and others in this space.