Adding to the list of carriers deploying its BrandFinder and MapBlast! location-based marketing information, Vicinity Corp. said Verizon Wireless will offer the services to its subscribers nationwide with Internet-enabled phones.
Vicinity formerly had a similar relationship with GTE Wireless, which Verizon now owns. AT&T Wireless Inc. is the only other carrier to deploy the service, but Vicinity has deals to bundle the solution with all future Palm Inc. personal digital assistants and is a featured provider for the OmniSky service.
BrandFinder is a database of brand names and retail locations designed to get mobile device users into the physical store to make a purchase, based on proximity. Users enter their location and select from a menu of categories, such as food, clothing or banking.
Vicinity then provides a list of the nearest locations for each given category. Priority placement on the service is given to Vicinity’s customers, retailers who pay the company an annual fee. Aside from premier placement, Vicinity customers also may update their location information at any time. Next-generation services will include more robust information, such as hours or amenities of each location.
Vicinity supplements its database with Yellow Page information, listed lower on the screen.
The annual fee is partly based on the number of leads the service provides them. A lead is whenever a user selects a particular brand and requests directions.
“We help them measure the effect of advertising,” said Eric Winkler, vice president of marketing for Vicinity.
Carriers are not charged for the service. Vicinity is able to determine from which carrier a lead was requested and then shares a percentage of the lead revenue it generates with the carrier, he said.
The m-commerce market is in its infancy, and Vicinity relies on several factors for its success. For now, users must enter their address to find what’s closest, but Vicinity is waiting for carriers to roll out location-sensitive technology.
“In a perfect world, the carriers would already have location technology when they roll out our service,” he said. “The pace of carriers’ adoption of location technology is reflective of their overall pace as a company.”
He said carriers are taking a more cautious, wait-and-see approach to location technology, waiting for demand to ramp up by subscribers before investing heavily in it.
“We’re optimistic that by the end of 2000, we’ll see some test markets launch for network-based location services.”
Winkler said he feels the retail brands will push the adoption of m-commerce to wireless subscribers
“Just like they tell you how to find them on the Web, they’re going to tell you how to find them on the phone,” he said.
The company’s vision is that network-based location technology is the next step, but in the end, Vicinity feel handsets equipped with global positioning system chips will provide the bulk of location-based services.
Vicinity also is counting on Web-enabled devices saturating the market.
“We think they will be a factor this holiday season,” Winkler said. “These are the people we want to connect with our brands. They are the gadget gurus. They’re the type of people we want to get into Nordstrom.”
