Sunnyvale, CA — February 4, 2015 — Thinknear® by Telenav® (NASDAQ: TNAV), today announced the release of its latest Location Score™ Index, the only quarterly report monitoring the accuracy of location data used in the mobile advertising industry. Results from this latest report were first reported in Street Fight. Since Thinknear published its first Location Score Index last May, industry location data quality has improved slightly—but the most recent report highlights the need for continued vigilance and a focus on data quality within the overall mobile industry.
To compile its third quarterly report, Thinknear sampled and analyzed data from more than one billion ad impressions and performed location accuracy tests on more than 500,000 consumer ad experiences during the quarter. In Q4 2014, the industry's overall Location Score decreased to 51, from its previous high of 55 in Q3 2014. The slight decrease in overall industry accuracy was counterbalanced by significant growth in overall programmatic inventory. In 2014, the mobile programmatic industry experienced two to three times growth in the volume of ad requests. Thinknear's research indicates that growth in volume was spread among new apps entering the industry, growth of existing app traffic, and the addition of mobile web traffic to the programmatic space. The growth of mobile web traffic in the programmatic space presents new challenges for the industry, as mobile web traffic has traditionally struggled to provide high-quality location data to mobile marketers.
"The good news is that the overall volume of high-quality location-enabled mobile ad inventory is increasing," said Loren Hillberg, President of Thinknear. "But we need to acknowledge that while volume is up, the issues and challenges with industry data quality still remain. The main takeaway here is that the opportunity to leverage location data to reach audiences and drive consumer engagement is fully in place, but marketers need to be vigilant with their vendors to ensure the accuracy of that location data. We know that high-quality location data leads to improved campaign performance."
"We believe better data and insights are key factors in driving informed technology-buying decisions," said Noah Elkin, chief product officer at Industry Index, the platform for verified ratings and reviews of digital media technologies. "With an emerging channel like location, where precision and accuracy are paramount, the need for resources like Thinknear's LSI that help marketers benchmark their activity is particularly acute."
For more information about Thinknear's Location Score, and to download the full Location Score Index for free, please visit: http://locationscore.com.
