ROADvertising :: Advertising on GPS Devices

Having dozens of meetings with different Marketing Managers and Commucation Managers in small, medium or large multinational companies we were asked in the first place about the knowledge users have when speaking about the usability of the devices and if the users know sometimes about what they have in their pockets or in their cars. The audience is rising and some may need an "education"; it is the same like learning your mother it's easier sending an email than sending an envelope by postal services.

It is a good question and in some cases even we are stucked in researches and reports. And to have e general answer for you all I can say sometimes the users, or consumers, do not know how useful can be a mapping application installed in their smartphones or a PND device when you really need a precious information. We do not complain about audience now, the map we are promoting is used 100 million times a day in Europe but it still remains place for more as the sales of GPS enabled devices and applications are booming.

It may sound ambigous but let's think this way. I am in a new city for the first time and I have an urgent need for a service like a 24 hours opened Internet Caffe or a tourist desk where I can find the needed information. If you have your own "guidance system" and a good intuition maybe it is easier. But maybe you don't have these and you will waste time, precious time. Not to speak about a serious problem you have when you travel by car and you are desperate to find the nearest car service or petrol station...this would be "heavier". And as a small poll, you can ask your friends or colleagues and I am sure at least one will tell you he or she had o problem on the road and they needed urgent assistance. There are also other methods to get assistance, I am sure of that, but think about a device you have in your pocked or in your car which can solve your problems easier and more quicker. We are speaking about huge databases loaded with information from all over this world. 

Navigon tries to do this and show to users the easy and friendly way of finding information in their devices. You can also visit our YouTube channel to see a collection of videos we gathered and which may show you some useful information.

And I repeat, it's all in your pocked or in your car!

A mapping application or GPS powered device will not just take you from point A to point B, as these were made just for this purpose when they have been released for commercial use many years ago. They have evolved and now that kind of application or device is more than an upgraded Yellow Pages. You search for services, merchants and information and the search may answer your need right away. This is why they are calling them Points of Interest...

And to come back to the question which is often asked in the meetings we have. We want to "educate" them, because not all the users know why are they carying that device in their pockets or in their cars besides guiding them from point A to point B. An informed consumer can understand the extended use and the power of mapping applications and devices. It takes some time but the need can accelerate these processes and this way we can "educate" the users.

Speaking again about "education", this time about the benefits of the mobile internet, see what Vodafone made in Romania to "educate" users... A daily random, and it works!