Retailing Titan, Gap, Pushes Advertising Perimeters, Through Novel Geo-Fencing Technology

Gap Inc. founded by Doris and Don Fisher in 1969 in  San Francisco, with a single store and a handful of employees, has today grown into a leading international company offering clothing, accessories and care products, with its products available for sale, in more than 90 countries across the world.

It is now hoping to further enhance its sales, reported to be in the region of $15 billion dollars, through a recently completed ad campaign, that combines traditional transit ads with geo-fencing technology.

The new ad campaign has been worked out in tandem with out-of-home ad company Titan and it aims to utilize available mobile technology, with its wide array of built-in sensors, to its optimum limit. It seeks to push the boundaries of mobile advertising as far as possible.

This is how the new ad campaign works. The Company places ads at bus stops and other transit sites, in Chicago, San Francisco and New York. Titan then creates geo-fences around the ads, which brings the mobile into the ad picture.

A geo-fence is like having an invisible fence around your home and when you cross its perimeter, it is automatically activated and triggers an alert, sending messages to your mobile that it has been pre-programmed to deliver, when that line is breached.

In this case it, could open up ‘Words with Friends,’ not only helping you while away your time whilst waiting for bus to arrive, but keep you from getting bored. Another Ad will be seen, that offers,” a coupon for $10 off a $50 purchase.”

Gap’s senior director of media and brand engagement, Chris Gayton, said that the ad campaign was a surefire way to “close the loop”, as the incentive inducement provided by the coupon’s offering discounts, motivated customers to head straight for the company’ stores. Gayton further added, that the results were very encouraging and that he was keen on experimenting with similar campaigns in the future.

Dave Etherington, Titan’s senior vice president of marketing and mobile, added to the optimistic views of Chris Gayton, saying, that this new ad campaign reflected a shift in traditional out-of-home advertising, “The lines are kind of blurring,” he says. “You’re only a click away now from rich brand experiences and purchases.”

Both the collaborating companies, Gap and Titan are pleased with the outcomes reflected in the sales so far, and say that “the campaign, which ran from Feb 20 to March 6, delivered 2.5 million impressions, with a 0.93 percent click-through rate.”

Buoyed by the results, the companies plan to design their future ads that go beyond a stationary image, by “including a video or a link to more information.”