This year, the navigation app Waze launched their brand new ad program Waze Local. Yet another ad platform, you think? Absolutely not, we say! Waze Local’s mission is not to draw people to a business’ website, but to their stores in the real world. Connecting local businesses and local drivers, the free app offers a unique way to advertise. We at Baldwin found this interesting, so we decided to become part of their story and partnered up!
Trusted co-pilot
Waze is not just another navigation app. The app makes it its mission to save drivers five minutes a day, every day. Together with its engaged community of 100 million drivers worldwide, Waze wants to outsmart traffic together. Always find the fastest route, get real-time traffic updates to avoid traffic jam or accidents and get help finding a parking spot, using the biggest community-based navigation app!
Last year, the city of Ghent implemented an audacious plan to ban cars from the city center. This new circulation plan had a huge impact: a lot of Ghentians had to find new ways to get to their destination due to permanent road closures, changing driving directions and traffic signs and new pedestrian areas. However, thanks to the help of the local Waze community, the citizens of Ghent could find an updated and accurate map from day one making navigating through this new circulation plan peanuts!
How is it possible that the app is such a success? Waze is the biggest community-based traffic and navigation app. This means that every Wazer is invited to actively share road information in their area to help others get to their destination in a safe and fast way. This community is highly engaged and loyal: the 100 million Wazers worldwide spend an average of 20 to 40 minutes per day on the app driving and helping other drivers in their area. The app is very proud to work together with real people to beat traffic together.
Waze not just for drivers…
Waze is not only a driver’s best friend, but it is also a great partner for local businesses. Its users spend a lot of time on the app, allowing it to gather valuable insights on driver behavior and to deliver targeted ads to drivers while they are on the go. In fact, businesses in the U.S. saw navigations to their locations increase with 20% when they started advertising on Waze according to an internal study by the app itself. In other words, Waze is the living proof that digital marketing can really boost in-store sales!
Waze Ads for Local Businesses
In 2018, Waze Local was launched, an ad program for small and medium businesses to help them reach drivers close to their store. The core mission of Waze Local is to raise awareness and draw people inside the store with a platform that is quick and easy to use.
Other than classic billboards, Waze Local gathers information about impressions, actions, clicks, etc. making it easy to optimize the campaigns.
There are three types of ads a business can choose from::
- Branded Pins
- Promoted Search
- Zero-speed Takeover
#1 Branded Pins
Branded pins let drivers know your business is on or near their route. The pin shows your location and shows important information if the driver clicks on it.
#2 Promoted Search
When you use promoted search, your business will show first in the search results of nearby drivers looking for comparable services. In that way, you will stand out on crowded routes.
#3 Zero-Speed Takeover
With a Zero-Speed Takeover, your ad pops up when a nearby driver comes to a complete stop for more than three seconds. This ad has a wider reach than the other two and increases more navigations.
Baldwin and Waze: the perfect team ❤️
The marketing team of Baldwin took an interest in this amazing ad program and got themselves certified! Thanks to our expertise acknowledged by Waze, we are now an official partner. This means that the Baldwin agency is an expert in drawing drivers to the real-world stores and businesses of their clients using Waze ads. Isn’t that marvelous news?
Do you want to learn more about advertising on Waze or are you curious about Baldwin’s mad advertising skills? Check out our website or get in touch!
