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Inside Ubimo

06/18/2019

Using Census Data in Combination with Movement Data

Unlocking next-level audience insights

We have now released an additional layer of data for Ubimo’s Polaris Planning Tool — Census Data Layers. This census data enables a better understanding of the audiences who live in the areas around billboards, stores, transit routes, and other assets and locations.

Census data enables a better understanding of the audiences who live in the areas around billboards, stores, transit routes, and other assets and locations

In order to index physical locations, many businesses use either census data from the U.S. government or movement data captured through mobile signals. However, combining both sources unlocks endless opportunities and gives a new meaning to Location Intelligence. Let’s explore this.

Showcasing the Power of Movement & Census Data for Luxury Brands

To demonstrate the power of using census data in addition to movement data, we will highlight an example from the Out-of-Home (OOH) advertising space. Say, for example, a luxury brand, such as Louis Vuitton or Gucci, wants to run an OOH campaign in San Francisco. Using solely census data, the brand, through their agency, could decide to target a high income demographic with a household income above $200,000. This plan limits the media to the geographic areas with the highest levels of income. (Note, this is a measure of income, not wealth). In Ubimo’s Polaris, the areas in green are those that meet the chosen census criteria of having the highest average income. The pins are the OOH properties available within these locations.

*OOH Media in the Areas with the Highest Average Income*

This plan, including 150 OOH properties, is a great place for the brand to start if they want to reach their target audience where they live. However, if the goal is to get to a granular audience within these areas, movement data should be added to the equation. To do so, we can filter these OOH properties to include only those that are actually viewed by audiences that are both luxury store shoppers and have an income above $200,000. The results show there are 95 OOH property placements that are a good fit for a luxury brand in high income neighborhoods.

*OOH Media Indexing Highly for Target Audiences in the Areas with the Highest Average Income*

Although reaching audiences in the places they live is effective, most people spend many hours of their day away from home, in their places of work or running errands around the city. Limiting OOH campaigns to living areas will also limit their reach and impact. This is where movement data truly shines, perfectly complementing census data.

Limiting OOH campaigns to living areas will also limit their reach and impact. This is where movement data truly shines, perfectly complementing census data.

We looked at locations that index highly for an audience that has high income and a propensity for shopping for luxury goods beyond the defined census areas with highest average income. This new search revealed an additional 208 potential OOH properties, the pins in the image below, where the lighter shade of green represents the areas with lower average household incomes. Audiences that shop for luxury brands and have high incomes live in and move through these areas as well as the high-income dark green ones in the maps above.

Zooming in a little closer, we see that luxury brands are able to capture the attention of their target audience while they are at work in the Financial District, and also while they are shopping in the Union Square area and at the Westfield San Francisco Centre, as shown in the movement data. This makes sense because many individuals from this audience, luxury brand shoppers and high income, work in the Financial District and visit the numerous luxury brand stores, and department stores that carry luxury brands, in the Union Square and Westfield areas.

By advertising near Union Square and the Westfield San Francisco Centre, luxury retailers will reach audiences who are in the shopping mindset and possibly drive them to purchase. If advertisers skipped placed ads in these areas due to the lower average household income, according to the census data, they would miss key opportunities to reach their audience at critical moments, including when they are at work and when they are shopping.

Data Convergence Reveals Untapped Opportunities

Combining census data with movement data can reveal surprising insights. In this example, Fillmore Street is highlighted as an area of opportunity. Fillmore Street is a smaller-scale shopping street with a number of boutiques where luxury brands can reach their desired audience while they are in the purchasing mindset.

Fillmore Street hosts smaller stores and tends to be a little bit quieter than the hustle and bustle of Union Square or Westfield San Francisco Centre. This is a non-obvious location that would have gone unnoticed without the convergence of movement and census data. At this location, luxury brands have a better chance of standing out with their OOH media, as the street is likely not yet overwhelmed with advertisements from other luxury brands.

Using a combination of census and movement data enables brands to create more memorable touchpoints with their audience throughout the day and at critical decision moments. They can reach their current or potential customers where they live, work, shop, or otherwise enjoy spending time. And, crucially, they can now identify unique areas, which may not be immediately obvious without the help of movement data, to reach their audience.

If advertisers skipped placed ads in these areas due to the lower average household income, according to the census data, they would miss key opportunities to reach their audience at critical moments

Creating a media plan starts with knowing your audience. The audience tools and new census data layers of Ubimo’s Polaris enable this understanding at deeper levels than ever before.