While reading the countless articles that were smashing and tearing apart the recent flop by Apple that is their new map application, I stumbled upon an article that made a point that some people are missing. Sure consumers and marketers hate the new maps, but the problems that have been occurring with Apple’s new location services could pose an even larger problem for marketers. Location-based targeting and localized location marketing have been rapidly growing recently, and with such dependence from the consumer on mobile devices and mobile media, mobile location-based targeting is something that has been becoming and will continue to become a very large commodity for marketers of all types.
The article I found was from Mobile Marketer, and was written by their associate editor Rimma Kats. In the article, the problems that the Apple maps mishaps have been causing are laid out, beginning with who will be impacted most by these mishaps. The answer is marketers, namely those who have been putting their trust in Apple and who have been or are planning to take advantage of location-based marketing.
“Everything nowadays is about location, therefore, if there is a glitch of some sort – it will be a problem for both marketers and consumers.”
This is an absolutely accurate statement, considering that companies like Cisco and eMarketer are expecting gigantic growths in location-based targeting before or by the year 2016. Even though Google’s Android has been leading the way in mobile marketing for a while, Apple has remained close. I originally thought that with the release of their new OS and their new device, Apple would be gaining ground, but with the problems in their location based application, they may be falling a bit behind.
However, it is not just the location-based targeting that is at risk. Here is what Rimma Kats wrote in her article:
Maps is the future of search.
In the past year, marketers have incorporated some form of location-based technology into their strategies.
And, it is important for Apple to figure out how to make its maps functionality better – for both the user and marketer.
By saying “maps is the future of search,” I assume she means that location services will soon be a big part of how people search on their mobile devices. Then again, it already is to some degree, as more and more smartphone and tablet users have preferred to receive results that are based on their location, and more search ads have been targeted through location services.
Apple could be in bigger trouble than many people have thought as a result of their glitchy maps and location services. Maybe getting rid of Google Maps so suddenly was a big mistake, especially since Google has been in the location and maps game a lot longer than Apple has. Google can rest easy, because as a results of Apple getting rid of their Maps application, Google’s main competitor is seeing a lot of struggle and potential damage that can only help Android in the long run.
