Vindigo’s instant offers target palm computer users DROPPING BY Keens Steakhouse in midtown Manhattan for a bite? Your Palm Pilot just may deliver a discount coupon for a dinner there.
DEVELOPED BY Vindigo Inc., New York, and called instant offers, the technology can target ads via handheld devices based on users’ interests by category, subcategory, demographics, geography – even time of day.
The system debuted in New York in August and can, for example, show an ad to a woman shopping for shoes on the West Side, and then offer her dollars off the store most convenient to her current location.
“Think of it as a portable mini-billboard,” says Dave Shankman, vice president of marketing for Vindigo. “We can deliver messages to you that are relevant at the moment.”
Vindigo, which develops and markets city-navigation information for handheld devices, worked with 20 of its 6,000 retail partners to participate in the six-week test.
Vindigo’s software guides users to restaurants, bars and retail stores near their current location when they tap on the category they’re interested in on screen.
Once a specific restaurant or store has been selected, reviews, price and quality ratings, telephone numbers, cross streets and directions are displayed.
During the ad trial, special offers from participating retailers appear as the user selects different categories.
For example, if a user taps on the subcategory of “steak restaurant,” a coupon for a nearby restaurant appears on screen. Then the Vindigo user shows the handheld computer’s screen, with the offer displayed, at the restaurant to redeem it.
Retailers report back to Vindigo on how many coupons are redeemed. Vindigo also tracks how many times ads are displayed and how many times users tap through to the offer. It doesn’t need to track or collect any personal information to target ads precisely. The test offers one-to-one marketing without the marketer knowing anything about the user, other than what they like to buy.
There are advertisers in all three of Vindigo’s categories: Eat, Shop and Play. They include Keens Steakhouse, Blades Board and Skate, and HMV Records. Promotions range from dollars off to giveaways.
For all of Vindigo’s technological innovation, the offer cannot be picked up from the Vindigo screen by a barcode wand, so some advertisers record Vindigo redemptions by hand.
Still, Shankman expects good redemption rates. “If you drop a traditional coupon – you’re happy if you get 1%,” he points out. Online coupons are higher because people seek out the service they want, he says. “This is better because it relates to something you’re doing right now and all you need do is tap on it and go into a store and show the offer.”
A handful of national companies also advertise with Vindigo but don’t offer special discounts.
Network
