Ad tech that tracks altitude from mobile data to give brands ‘3D view’ of consumers’ location
BlisMedia, an ad tech firm, believes that its technology will enable advertisers to track people's location based on their altitude, providing brands with new ways to target consumers. 
18 June 2015 Ad tech that tracks altitude from mobile data to give brands ‘3D view’ of consumers’ location

By using air pressure data taken from the barometric sensors found in most new smartphones and wearable technologies and adding it to other behavioural data, advertisers will be able to construct a three dimensional view of where their customers are for the first time, according to the company behind the technology, BlisMedia.

This could be useful for brands that want to track the movement of consumer groups in Asia’s high density cities such as Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore, and work out when and where people are on the move, for instance from high-rise office blocks to a subway train, BlisMedia CEO Greg Isbister told Mumbrella.

“Location isn’t simply about where you are at any given time – it’s also about the context of what you have done or are doing right now, and how you are interacting with your environment,” he said.

“We all think and see in three dimensions – so why not measure location in 3D too? That’s the simple idea behind what we are developing.”

Blis is producing a Software Development Kit for app developers and publishers that will allow it to access and analyse data from people’s smartphones. App publishers and developers will be able to generate revenue by allowing Blis to monetise the location data collected.

Isbister said that privacy would be an issue, although the data is anonymised and would be best used to spot location trends among large groups of consumers rather than for real-time targeting, he said.

“With mobiles, tablets and now wearable devices, the currency of context is growing exponentially. This means gathering and analysing more kinds of data as we become more connected to the environments we move in. This creates more ways for advertisers to understand the context of device movement and behaviour and cutting edge companies will find smart ways of using this insight,” said Isbister.

The service is in the early development phase and has yet to be used by an advertiser or agency.

Source: Mumbrella Asia

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