Ethic Advertising Agency has partnered with digital advertising platform Simpli.fi to launch the first geofence-advertising platform that anyone can use. The software uses Simpli.fi’s programmatic ecosystem to provide a do-it-yourself geofencing option for small businesses that was previously only available to large corporations and agencies.
Geofence advertising uses GPS technology to allow users to deliver targeted ads to potential customers who have been physically present at a selected location. It works by setting up a virtual “fence” around a specific geographic area. When a GPS-enabled device enters the location, its device ID is collected and added to a list of potential targets for advertising campaigns.
“The reason most companies don’t know about geofence advertising is that the people who provide it aren’t focused on most companies,” said Jeff Swartz, founder and CEO of Qujam and Ethic Advertising. “Ethic Advertising has received hundreds of requests from our contacts to use geofence advertising on your own terms.
“That’s why we created Qujam,” he continued. “To provide the best technology in an easy-to-use system that empowers small business owners.”
Qujam’s platform offers three forms of advertising: banner ads that can show up on mobile apps and websites, OTT CTV (over the top and connected TV), which includes streaming apps, and video pre-rolls. Examples of these include ads that run before news clips or videos on blogs. Currently, Qujam can run ads through hundreds of thousands of publishers across over 50 exchanges.
“In America, 90% of phones have GPS enabled in the background. This is what allows users to track their location and use maps. Qujam uses the same technology,” explains Swartz. “It also works across multiple devices, meaning if the original device is connected to a smart TV, tablet, mobile device, or computer, it allows them to serve ads there too.”
Geofence Advertising is a form of programmatic advertising. A $86 billion-dollar-a-year industry focused on using automated methods to purchase digital ad space, and includes advertisements outside of Google and Social Media.
“Geofencing is the most straightforward form of programmatic advertising, ” said Jess Baur, Digital Advertising Manager for Ethic Advertising. “The benefit of Qujam is that it is streamlined, it allows users who are not programmatic experts to come in and understand it quickly and easily.”
Simpli.fi is an example of a demand-side platform (DSP), an automated service where marketers can purchase and manage ad inventories from multiple sources. The company is one of the leading advertisement automation platforms with the support of over 200 programmers executing more than 100,000 campaigns a month.
“When it comes to geofencing, nine times out of 10, any programmatic DSP that I’ve been in contact with utilizes Simplifi’s geofencing technology because it is the most accurate, ” said Baur. “Part of the reason for our partnership with Simpli.fi is because they really have simplified it to make it a lot more digestible. Qujam takes it a step further, while Simpli.fi is geofencing made easy for advertisers, Qujam is geofencing made easy for everyone.”
During development, Qujam identified “6 closed doors” of geofence advertising that make it difficult for small businesses to take advantage of the technology. These include high minimums, sometimes more than $10,000; high cost per thousand (CPM); managed-only options that prevent them from doing it themselves; inferior tech; no reporting dashboards, and not accepting credit cards. Qujam addresses these issues head-on and offers a fully do-it-yourself platform with a real-time reporting dashboard.
“If you can run a boosted Facebook post, then you can use Qujam. It is designed to be very simple,” says Swartz. “The most important thing for users to understand is where their audience is and what creative assets they need to upload.”
Qujam’s platform also offers the ability to track ad engagement and whether they have converted to a physical location, allowing businesses to measure foot traffic and determine the effectiveness of their campaigns, making data-driven decisions.
“We believe that small businesses should have access to the same tools and technology that large corporations have,” says Swartz. “Our goal is to empower small businesses and agencies to run successful geofencing campaigns and grow their businesses on their own terms without being taken advantage of cost-wise.”
To register for Qujam, visit https://app.qujam.com/register. More information can be found at https://qujam.com/.
