Draw a polygon on a map. Anyone who walks into it gets your ad on their phone for the next 30 days. Trade shows, competitor lots, neighborhoods, stadiums. Done with restraint, it's the most precise paid channel in the stack.
Geofencing is the closest thing in digital advertising to standing outside your competitor's door with a sign that says "we cost less and we're open right now." Except you're standing there for the next 30 days, you only pay when someone actually looks, and you can do it across every competitor in a 50-mile radius simultaneously.
Most agencies oversell this. They draw a fence around a whole strip mall and call it geofencing. We draw fences around the specific buildings where your future customers physically are, then track what happens when those phones come within range of your business.
Quick note on ethics. Geofencing uses anonymized device IDs from standard mobile ad exchanges. We don't collect names, numbers, or personal data. Users can opt out via standard device privacy settings. We use it for marketing, not surveillance.
A fence is any polygon you draw on a map. The tighter the better. Specific buildings work. Parking lots work. Trade-show halls work. Single neighborhoods work. The minimum useful size is roughly a 100-meter radius (smaller than that and the device-ID pool gets too thin to bid on).
Plays we run most:
Mobile phones pass anonymized device IDs to ad exchanges when apps load ads. When a device ID is recorded inside your geofence polygon, that device enters your audience pool. For the next 30 days (or shorter if you choose), the ad exchanges know to bid on that device when it loads an ad somewhere else.
The ads then run on standard mobile ad placements: free apps, mobile websites, in-game ads, news apps. The user has no idea they were "fenced." They just see your ad on their phone the next day, and the next week, looking like any other mobile ad.
Mobile ad creative has about 1.5 seconds to register. We build three things into every geofencing ad:
The same device-ID system that powers targeting also powers measurement. We can match served-ad devices back to your physical store (foot-traffic attribution) or back to your website (visit attribution) using location partners like Foursquare or Adsquare. Numbers are never perfect, but they're directionally honest. You see roughly how many fenced devices became actual visitors.
Pick it when your business depends on physical proximity (foot traffic, service area routes). Pick it for time-bound events (trade shows, grand openings, seasonal pushes). Pick it for conquest plays where you know exactly which competitors you want to steal share from.
Skip it if your buyers shop entirely online or your service has no geographic constraint. Search ads probably work better for that profile.
Monthly media spend from $1,500 for a tight, focused campaign (a few small fences). Broader plays (multiple competitor locations, full trade-show coverage, sustained conquest campaigns) usually run $3,000 to $7,500 monthly media. Flat management fee on top. Production for static and animated mobile creatives is included in the quote.
Down to a single building footprint in most cases. Stadium, trade-show hall, competitor parking lot, individual apartment complex. The platform we use determines the minimum, but a 100-meter radius is realistic on the tightest builds.
Yes, it is legal. The ads run through standard mobile ad exchanges using anonymized device IDs. We never see names, emails, or phone numbers. We see "this device was in this polygon" and serve an ad. The user can opt out via standard device ad-tracking settings.
Up to 30 days on most platforms. After that, the audience pool resets and they have to enter the geofence again to re-qualify. A 30-day window is usually plenty for foot-traffic conversions; longer windows for considered purchases.
Anything foot-traffic driven: home services with truck routes, restaurants, dental and medical, salons, dealerships, retail. Also great for conquesting competitors and for event-based campaigns (trade shows, sports games, concerts).
They have to have any app open that serves ads through standard mobile ad exchanges, which is most free apps. They do not need to have your app or your competitor's app. Weather, news, games, social, productivity apps all qualify.
Geofencing scales tighter than other paid channels. We have run campaigns starting at $1,500 monthly media when the fences are small and focused. For broader plays (multiple competitor locations, full trade-show coverage), expect $3,000 to $7,500 monthly media.
Got a competitor you want to conquest?
Send us their address and your offer. We'll come back with a fence plan and a number.
Request a Geofencing Quote →