Marketers Map Out Their GPS Ad Plans

BrandWeek reports on whether GPS can be used for marketing purposes. The article notes, "during the past two months, Dunkin' Donuts, Cold Stone Creamery and others began appearing on in-car GPS devices to alert drivers to nearby locations and, in some cases, offer special deals."

Samir Bhavnani at Current Analysis said, "Not only can GPS devices tell you how to get there, they can tell you where to go."

The article cites data from NPD Group that finds the number of "GPS owners is growing quickly thanks in part to the fact that prices fell last year from an average of $1,000 per unit to $800. While the user base is well under a million, unit volume sales of GPS devices jumped 152% in 2005."

The article looks at some of the branding and marketing efforts geared for GPS users, such as a promotion beween the Entertainment Book of discounts and the Garmin Nüvi. Ross Rubin at NPD sees "huge potential . . . to almost literally drive traffic to the point of transaction."

NPD also found that "a third (34%) of [GPS] buyers earned between $100,000 and $150,000 annually per a three-month NPD survey. Roughly 45% made $75,000 or more annually. 81% of GPS purchasers were male, of which 29% were ages 45-54 while 23% were ages 18-24. Rubin said, the younger buyers "make a lot of investment in vehicle technology. They want to soup up their cars."

Current Analysis' Bhavnani agreed that while the partnership was a good idea, "in the beginning sales will be challenging because they have to not only be familiar with the Entertainment Book, they have to be in the market for a GPS system."