vccs geospatial institute chapter 2 - introduction to...

VCCS Geospatial Institute Chapter 2 - Introduction to GPS

Blacksburg, VAJuly 24th – 30th, 2010 Marketing in the Virtual World |

Marketing in the Digital WorldJohn McGee, Ph.D.

Virginia Geospatial Extension ProgramDepartment of Forest Resources and

Environmental Conservation(540) 231-2428

Acknowledgements: Adeel Ahmed

[email protected]

Workshop Overview‐ImpactsOf the workshop participants who completed a post workshop evaluation (n=30):

• 91% stated that they are in a better position to compete with other businesses in the future;

91% t t th t th ill k h t i ti• 91% state that they will make changes to existing marketing efforts based on information provided at this workshop; 78% anticipate an increase in their customer based due to location‐based services;

• 94% would encourage other owners of small, rural businesses to attend this, or a similar workshop.

Program Overview

Small, rural businesses (e.g. tourism & agritourism operations, art galleries, antique shops, “mom and pop” restaurants) face many challenges, especially when it comes to marketing and advertising their products and services. Rural business owners may be preoccupied with ‘traditional’ forms of advertising, which include signage, yellow page advertising (‘the book’), and the dissemination of information through other print media, including magazines and newsletters. While these advertising venues have proven to be tried and tested over time, these approaches can be expensive and do not always target intended audiences. Furthermore, some areas of Virginia, including regions along the Blue Ridge Parkway, do not permit some forms of traditional advertising (signage).y p g ( g g )

Advances in technology are resulting in a revolution in advertising. Location and place‐based services, made possible through the integration of global positioning system (GPS) devices (including both portable and in‐dash car navigation systems) can be used to geographically connect potential consumers with nearby businesses. When integrated with the Internet via Smartphone devices, these applications provide a technical bridge, linking potential (and often mobile) customers with nearby businesses and specific products. Likewise, businesses are also able to target and “reach out” to potential customers through the use of virtual coupons and other marketing techniques.

This workshop was developed by Univ. Minnesota Cooperative Extension, and is provided by the Virginia Geospatial Extension Program. Through this program we will walk business owners through the process of registering their businesses on multiple national databases. These databases are used to populate a variety of location‐based service applications (TomTom, Garmin, iPhone/Blackberry applications, etc.). Through the workshop, participants also learn how to leverage free, online tools to market their businesses and their communities.



Marketing to Travelers

Changes in Advertising



Location Based Services

Usage of Location Based Services

• 15.6 percent of mobile subscribers (254 million) in the US, actively use the mobile Internet.

• That’s 40 million active users out of a total of 95 million who pay for the service.

• Usage is increasing despite current recession!



Tourist Surveys: Linking GPS with “traditional surveys”



Results

• 490 visitors contacted over 4 data collection periods (July, August, September, and October).

323 d t ti i t (R t f 65 9%)• 323 agreed to participate (Response rate of 65.9%)

• Of these 323 visitors, 312 visitors have returned a survey/GPS unit (Secondary response rate of 96.6%)

Table 16. How many hours did you spend planning your trip to Floyd and Patrick Counties?

Frequency Percent0 30 10.9%0.1 – 1 193 70.4%1 1 2 28 10 2%1.1 – 2 28 10.2%2.1 – 3 9 3.3%3.1 – 4 5 1.8%More than 4 9 3.3%Mean = 1.0 Median = 0.5 SD = 1.5

Tourist surveys

Pat. + Floyd Co. GPS Map



Tourist surveys

Site Location:

Take into account existing traffic and

tourist visitor patterns

There’s a high correlation between the VDOT traffic count map and the GPS tourist surveys…

The Buzz about GPS

Not only can GPS devices tell you where you are...

• GPS can tell you how to get where you are going (if you know).g g ( y )

• GPS can also tell you where to go (if you don’t know where you are going...).

• GPS advertising has huge potential…to almost literally drive traffic to the point of transaction.



How Can You Take Advantage of this Technology?

• Put yourself on the Map!

• Utilize various Location Based Service Providers to enhance your presenceProviders to enhance your presence

• Enhance your Community’s Presence using customized digital maps

Put Yourself on Maps

Check your listing on Google Mapsg p



List Your Business on Google Mapsg p



Put Your Hot Spot on a Car Navigation GPS SystemGPS System



Enhance your Community’s Online PresencePresence



Map Your Campus or Your Communityy

Maps on Apps



Google Maps on iPhone1

2 3

4

urbanspoon

Ski Utah



Tourism Test Drives



Don’t Outsource

Crowd Source

• Wikitravel is a project to create a free, complete, up‐to‐date, and (fairly) reliable worldwide travel guide. So far there are 22,900 destination guides and other articles written and edited by Wikitravellers from around the globe.

• Store and manage all your GPS tracks

• Add photos and videos to yourvideos to your routes

• Create your own map of routes

• Share your favorite trails with your friends

• Show off your trails in Google Earth



John McGee, Ph.D.Virginia Cooperative Extension Specialist

Department of Forestry and Environmental Conservation

[email protected](540) 231‐2428

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