Attributing In-Store Visits to Ad Exposure via Mobile Geolocation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Advertisers face challenges in determining the impact of online advertisements on in-store visits, as existing methods are ineffective in tracking visits that do not result in purchases, and there is no reliable way to attribute ad exposure to physical store visits across different devices or offline activities.
Innovation Solution
The attribution system uses geolocation data from mobile devices to tie ad impressions to real-world visits, leveraging data collection and inference pipelines to attribute store visits to ad exposure, and incorporates third-party data to enhance attribution metrics, allowing for the calculation of metrics such as store visit rates and demographic targeting effectiveness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If email address reconciliation is used to attribute ad impact, then purchase behavior can be tracked, but non-purchase store visits cannot be measured
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces mobile device geolocation data as an intermediary to bridge the gap between online ad exposure and offline store visits. The system uses location data from mobile devices to detect when users physically visit store locations, creating a mediator that connects digital advertising campaigns with real-world consumer behavior regardless of whether a purchase occurs.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical/email-based reconciliation system with a geolocation-based tracking system. Instead of relying on email address matching and purchase records, the system uses GPS and location data from mobile devices to automatically detect and attribute store visits to ad exposures, eliminating the need for manual or system-based reconciliation processes.
2Measurement precision
If online ad tracking is performed on the same device, then ad impact can be measured, but cross-device and offline ad impact cannot be determined
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the mobile device universal by using it for multiple functions: serving as the platform for online ad consumption, the source of geolocation data, and the link to offline store visit verification. The same mobile device that displays the ad also provides location data that tracks the user's physical movement to the store, eliminating the need for separate tracking systems for different devices or channels.
3Measurement precision
If geolocation data from mobile devices is used to attribute store visits to ad exposure, then comprehensive ad impact measurement is achieved, but data collection and processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service by having mobile devices automatically collect and transmit their own geolocation data without requiring manual intervention from users or complex processing infrastructure. The devices themselves generate the location data stream and make it available to the attribution system, reducing the burden on external data collection mechanisms and simplifying the overall system architecture.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for attributing in-store visits to exposure to advertisement (“ad”) impressions associated with an ad campaign are disclosed. The system gathers impression data and uses that data to identify users who were exposed to the ad impressions. The system then uses location data, activity information and in some instances beacon data points reported by mobile devices of the impression users to determine if the impression users visited a target place during a conversion window. Based on the impression users who were exposed to the ad impressions, the system establishes a control group of users who were not exposed to the ad impressions to perform quasi-experimental analyses to assess whether the ad impressions had any impact on changing the impression users' physical in-store visitation behavior.