The Problem: How to help ad agencies plan successful location-based marketing campaigns

When the Mobsta team visits ad agencies across the UK, they come to the table with a clear message: We know where your audiences are and we can save you a ton of time and effort finding them. That’s because the Mobsta team is composed of the UK’s leading location experts. “Everything we do is rooted in location,” explained James Sexton-Barrow, Mobsta’s Head of Planning. “We need to have a solid understanding of where places are and how people are moving from one place to another. Without the right data to fuel those insights, we wouldn’t really have any leg to stand on.” Up to this point, Mobsta had already been using multiple high-quality data sources—including mobile pings—to fuel their insights. The only thing missing was accurate, up-to-date, and granular POI data to add context to those insights.

Fortunately, their soon-to-launch ‘TraffiQ’ platform—a visual ad planning tool that pulls information from the SafeGraph Places global dataset and is aimed at helping agencies more accurately pinpoint the right ad units in the right locations for reaching the right audiences—gives them a very firm leg to stand on.

The Problem-Solver: Mobsta

Over the past 10 years, Mobsta has earned its reputation in the UK as a go-to specialist in location-based data marketing and audience targeting. Thanks to its ability to monitor over one billion devices globally, the company has played a major role in empowering ad agencies to plan, buy, and execute highly scalable advertising campaigns across multiple channels in 52 markets, all powered by highly accurate geospatial data. 

In fact, their expertise has led them to be consistently ranked as a top location provider in the UK. And with the disappearance of cookies just around the corner, their advanced geo-contextual (cookie-less) solutions will give them a leg up on the competition around next-gen behavioral targeting.

The Solution: SafeGraph Places

A lot of different data sources feed into the TraffiQ platform, many of which come from governmental bodies or highly regarded industry players. “We expect nothing less than the gold standard in data,” underscored Sexton-Barrow. “And when it came to onboarding a location-based data partner, we weren’t going to lower our standards one bit—which is precisely why we decided to partner with SafeGraph.” Mobsta uses the SafeGraph Places global dataset to identify, with utmost accuracy, virtually any POI across the UK instantly. 

“Receiving SafeGraph data each month in an S3 bucket means the POI data in our platform can automatically refresh each month with minimal development required,” explained Jack Burton, Mobsta’s Head of Product. “Plus, the scale of the data, including its clear and simple schema, allows us to work with it without having to overcome any learning curves.” Not only does this equate to a lot of time saved with every monthly update but more importantly, it immediately creates new opportunities for Mobsta’s team to provide even greater value to its customers. Burton continued, “We were able to get SafeGraph's data into the platform and working efficiently within a couple of weeks—that’s pretty incredible!”

But aside from providing Mobsta with the highly accurate location-based data they needed, they’ve been continually impressed with SafeGraph’s high level of customer service. “We’ve got a great relationship with the SafeGraph team on a personal level,” said Sexton-Barrow. “It’s clear that SafeGraph wants to be a true partner in our success.”

The Result: Building greater trust around location-based audience targeting

“During an agency visit, we need to be able to give a live demo with speed and accuracy,” continued Sexton-Barrow. “The good news is that we can always count on monthly updates to the SafeGraph Places dataset to keep our analytics accurate and up-to-date at all times.” Because SafeGraph data has played such a big part in bringing the TraffiQ platform to life, the precision and accuracy of the location-based insights have helped Mobsta’s sales team create better, more trusted relationships with their agency clients. 

As a result, the business has grown. “We let our agency partners play around with the TraffiQ tool on their own because we are confident in the accuracy of the data,” reinforced Sexton-Barrow. “This has taken a tremendous weight off of our sales team’s shoulders because the data visualizations, powered in large part by SafeGraph data, speak for themselves.” In fact, it has helped fuel a new dynamic in which agencies now proactively reach out to Mobsta to plan, buy, and execute campaigns.

“The success we’re already seeing with the soft launch of TraffiQ is proof that we’ve got a compelling and competitive offer for the agencies we work with,” followed up Sexton-Barrow. “Now, all we’ve got to do is expand this service offering across all of Europe.” And fortunately, with the SafeGraph Places global dataset by their side, the Mobsta team will be able to create a universal language across European countries in a turnkey way.