Gxpress Magazine interviews Sprooki Co-founder and Managing Director, Claire Mula on advancements in location-based marketing, presence technology and mobility opportunities for the publishing sector.

Across the globe there’s agreement that location will be the next revenue driver for publishes, writes Peter Coleman, Managing Editor.

With expectations that this will be the year mobile and location-based advertising finally takes off, publishers have an opportunity to exploit their local market relationships and claw back business from global e-commerce.

“Publishers are in a unique position,” says Claire Mula, managing director of Singapore-based Sprooki. “They have always been aggregators of location-based content and advertising, and are reinventing themselves for retail and other highly localised sectors.”

Location-based mobile technology lends itself to segments including cars, jobs, houses, personals and directories. “In this way they can continue to position themselves as locally relevant and act as the ‘local hero’,” says Mula, who worked in digital strategy and product development roles during a three-year stint with Fairfax Media.

“Location-based targeting is intuitive and directories have been built on the principle for decades,” she says. “Where would you rather eat tonight? The best restaurant in the world or the best restaurant on your street?”