Nick Cifuentes

I attended the 11th Annual MIT VC Conference Saturday, and was able to take a look at some upcoming technologies in a variety of spaces.

I wanted to highlight a company I ran into - as there outlook and technology look very promising:

movolu.

This new advertising network is built for the mobile platform - the application is quite simple. Movolu leverages location information to enhance the mobile experience and connect businesses with customers in their area.

Because many local businesses feel threatened by technology, the ecommerce ends up favoring larger brands and most likely could weaken their own in-store sales. In response, Movolu created a preformance-based advertising campaigns that directly result in sales for local businesses.

In creating interactive applications for smart phones that incorporate location-based information to enhance the user experience - it creates a strong funnel for location based advertising.

The process is simple - an advertiser joins the network, and their ads are distributed through content channels on mobile devices based on your ‘user’ characteristics - operating on an algorithm that utilizes location information, personal preferences, and behavioral patterns. So, if you enjoy eating Upper Crust Pizza in Boston, and you happen to be running an application or go onto a certain website in the network - their ad will flash on your mobile device. You can then click this ad - and take advantage of a ‘digital’ offer right on your cell phone. So, I just clicked this ad and now I have a coupon for a free large salad with the purchase of any pizza @ Upper Crust - and to go beyond the ‘regular’ coupon. This digital coupon is ‘timed’ and I have XXX amount of minutes to place my order and use this coupon - if I don’t use it…it expires, and more so, Upper Crust does not pay for that ‘click’. We all are familiar with the paid search process - normally you are paying for each click - whether a conversion happens or not - on movolu you don’t. You pay for each time the coupon is actually used.

This is a great way for smaller businesses to ‘pay’ for results - without burning money on useless conversions.

Now, for movolu to capitalize - there going to need to target highly populated locations. This system probably won’t do much in Wichita, KS - but could be very effective to start in some place like New York City. And as time goes on and this system grows in popularity - we could start to see this really take on popularity.

The two young guys I met who created this channel have stepped overboard, in terms of going all-in to create this application, and move to NYC to start putting their efforts into ovedrive. The network is set to be active in just about two months time - I wish them the best of luck!

See a demo of Movolu.

Fin.