Mobile ad networks and premium publishers like Facebook and Twitter can target on the state and zip code level or even go as far as focusing in on users within a specified range of GPS coordinates.   Many mobile apps are location-based which allow advertisers to target ads to users while they are in a retail store or college campus.  The lengths at which brands need to utilize geotargeting depend on their objectives.  Their objectives may easily be met by geotargeting at a larger geographic level or they may need to be as specific as GPS coordinates.

As more national brands begin to align their strategies with the increase in use of mobile devices, it is estimated that expenditures on geotargeted display advertising will triple over the next four years to $2.74 billion.  Advancements in location tracking abilities of smartphones and tablets over time will also allow for more refined geotargeting.

Location based providers are seeing a heavy increase in marketing, “Brands are realizing that consumers are increasingly using the mobile device to navigate the physical world, and they have a unique opportunity to put a message into that [experience].”

Those enrolled in college right now have grown up adapting and integrating new technologies into their lives.  Their mobile usage is unlike any generation before.   Whether they are rushing to class or streaming music on their smartphone, college students are always on the go and need to be captured in real-time.  Brands need to understand the importance of real-time geotargeting as they attempt to grab a piece of the college student’s budgets.