Partners 'Close Online to Off-Line Loop'

New York-based location intelligence firm xAd has announced a partnership with Chinese marketing data specialist AdMaster, to provide a measurement solution linking mobile campaign delivery to physical store visits.

'AdMaster Store Visitation Measurement in xAd' will use the former's online ad campaign measurement technology alongside the latter's proprietary Blueprints technology to enable advertisers to assess how well their mobile campaigns have done in generating actual foot traffic. The partners, who plan to launch the technology in verticals including automotive, QSR and cosmetics, say such measurement will be far more direct than traditional GRP/Reach oriented approaches.

xAd points to data showing that 90% of retail transactions are still completed off-line, and says its analysis of the location of mobile devices can provide 'in-store visitation insights by market, brand and even by specific competitors' - providing insight as well as opportunities for ad targeting.

AdMaster boasts five business centers and two R&D centers, in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xi'an and Chengdu, and says no fewer than fifty percent of its personnel are dedicated to research and development.

Dipanshu Sharma, founder and CEO of xAd, says the partnership will provide 'trusted measurement ROI metrics based on store visitation', helping to establish 'a new standard for off-line measurement while helping advertiser to create more precise and measurable campaign delivery'.

Vincent Yan, his opposite number at AdMaster, says the result will be 'the first measurement solution that closes the online to off-line loop', and adds: 'We are looking forward to gaining insights from the mobile ad exposure to store visitation conversion, and pushing forward the innovation of performance measurement metrics in location based marketing'.

Web sites: www.xad.com and www.admaster.com.cn .