O2 has partnered with Placecast to launch location-based advertising services in Ireland. 

The service enables retailers and brands to reach opted-in mobile users based on their location. The move follows O2s launch of the service in the UK, where the company says that 6m consumers are now receiving location-based commercial messages on their phones. 

Eugene Mitchell, director of new business for Telefónica Ireland, says: “The growth of location-based services creates great opportunities for proximity marketing. It fuels a growing expectation among consumers for tailored advertising via their mobile phones, with messages that are directly relevant to their passions. Customers are looking to take advantage of relevant bargains and deals and want these to be delivered in a convenient and timely manner. Our innovative new service provides a great experience for customers, connecting them with their favourite brands at a time and a place that really suits them.”

The service uses geofencing technology from Placecast, whose ShopAlerts platform has been deployed in the US and UK. According to the companys research, 65 per cent of customers who were part of the initial programmes made a purchase as a result of receiving a promotional message, and 60 per cent of participants found the location-based messages to be “cool and innovative”.

Alistair Goodman, CEO of Placecast, says: “The success over the past year that the O2 UK program has seen confirms the fact that consumers are actually very receptive to location-based mobile marketing messages, provided they have control over the types of messages they receive, and the number of messages is limited.”