Effective Geofencing For Local Restaurant Marketing 

Picture this: your restaurant’s ad streaming on TV screens in homes just minutes away! 

This is possible through geofencing. Through this practice, your ads will be shown to local households. Moreover, when this practice is combined with CTV/OTT advertising, you will be directly reaching diners who are most likely to visit your restaurant.

Key Takeaways

• Geofencing is a technique that creates virtual boundaries by using GPS, WiFi or cellular data.
• When combined with CTV/OTT advertising, geofencing allows restaurants to serve ads to audiences associated with devices that have entered a defined geographic area..
• Restaurants may use geo-conquesting strategies to target consumers who have visited competing locations, subject to platform capabilities and privacy requirements

What Is Geofencing for Restaurants? (How It Works)

Geofencing for restaurants is a location-based technology that draws a digital perimeter around a real-world geographic area to trigger targeted ads, notifications, or operational alerts on smart devices.

Rather than targeting a broad area, the practice involves targeting a specific geo radius, ideally around the business. There are multiple factors involved in geofencing, and to help you better understand how the practice works, we have shared the key ones below.

• Defining the Boundary: A virtual boundary is created on a map, such as a circle with a set radius or a custom polygon around a building.
• Tracking Location: The system tracks smart devices that are near the fence by using GPS, WiFi or cellular data.
• Monitoring Movement: The software you use for geofencing will constantly check the real-time coordinates of a device against the pre-set virtual boundary.
• Triggering an Action: When a device crosses into or out of the fence, the system automatically launches a pre-programmed response, such as a text message, a push notification, or an operational alert.

Geofencing vs. Proximity Marketing

Although both geofencing and proximity marketing are location-specific strategies, they are both significantly different from one another. Below, we have shared a thorough comparison table to help you better understand these distinctions and choose the right practice for your business.

Feature	Geofencing	Proximity Marketing
Technology	GPS, Wi-Fi or cellular data.	Bluetooth beacons, NFC tags or QR codes.
Range Scale	Large (meters to miles/kilometers).	Micro-local (centimeters to meters).
Primary Environment	Outdoor areas, parking lots, whole city blocks.	Indoor store environments, events, exhibits.
Main Use Case	Driving foot traffic, competitor conquesting.	In-store engagement, point-of-sale offers.

What Is CTV/OTT? 

Using geofencing with CTV/OTT services is one of the best strategies for reaching high-intent audiences with local relevance.CTV stands for Connected TV. This refers to video advertisements delivered to viewers during a streaming service, a TV show, and other video content on streaming devices like ROKU, TV, and even Xboxes. 

OTT, or “Over the Top,” refers to advertisements that come across various platforms over the internet, including your phone, iPad, and other mobile devices. 

Geofencing with CTV/OTT means you’re no longer bound to advertisements that can only come through commercial media providers like Comcast and others. Instead, you can reach audiences across all platforms. Most importantly, your reach is hyper-focused and localized, so you’re targeting the right audiences. 

Get a custom CTV/OTT plan today!

Who Should Use Geofencing CTV/OTT Advertising? 

If you’re ready to learn how to use geofencing for local restaurant advertising, you’re not alone. This tool is growing in popularity and being recognized as an effective tool to tap into.

Geofencing using CTV/OTT advertising does not have to feel complex or overwhelming, especially when you partner with the right advertising agency. At Levy Online, our experts will ensure your restaurant has the right online advertisements to target your audiences accurately. 

Best Geofencing Techniques for Restaurants

You don’t have to be a large-scale business to tap into the potential of CTV/OTT advertising, either. Restaurant establishments of all sizes in all areas of the U.S. can benefit from the services of this hyper-localized form of visual advertisement. Let’s take a look at some of the ways geofencing can help you build your restaurant’s image:

Define Your Audience

The first step in creating any advertisement is understanding your audience. There’s something unique about your restaurant that naturally pushes it toward specific audiences. It’s important to understand your restaurant’s “it factor” and how to use it to target the right audiences.

CTV/OTT audience selection tools allow you to define your ideal audience. Is it single individuals? Couples? Families? Defining your audience helps to push out target ads to the appropriate demographics. 

Define Your Geographic Target

Just as it’s important to define the appropriate audience, it’s equally important to determine the right geographic area to advertise in. With CTV/OTT advertising, targeting nearby customers with geofencing for restaurants is easy to do and highly effective.

Being able to focus on different areas in advertising opens the door to A/B testing. This is a tactic in which you can push out specific commercials to specific areas and test out which marketing strategies work best for your restaurant. 

Create Concise Messaging

Understanding your audience and targeting the right location is only half the battle. You’ll also want to ensure that the messaging you’re pushing out is effective, relatable, and tailored to your audience.

The strategy you’ll use will be unique to your restaurant and may look different than what other restaurants do. It’s important to stick to the basics and do what you know works best for your restaurant.

Still, there are some strategies you’ll want to employ when creating concise messaging. Below are some effective pieces of information you can include in your advertisement to help drive customer service: 

• Create relatable messaging
• Identify your proximity to different landmarks
• Identify your location and whether you’re near specific neighborhoods
• Create action-oriented messaging
• Highlight deals and specials
• Emphasize what makes your establishment unique and worth the drive

Partnering with an advertising agency that understands these aspects of messaging can be helpful to you as you create targeted CTV/OTT ads. At Levy Online, our team can help you create effective marketing materials to meet your business needs. 

Set Up Offers & Track Foot Traffic

As geofencing uses virtual boundaries on a digital map, it triggers real-time offers and measures physical visits when a mobile device enters or exits a specific geographic area. As a result, it effectively reaches customers when they are near your business and will also inform them of your selected offers. 

How Much Does Geofencing for Restaurants Cost?

The cost of geofencing for restaurants is based on several factors, and, depending on these factors, the cost can also vary significantly from business to business. Below, we have shared the key factors that determine the cost of geofencing for restaurants.

• Targeting Radius: A shorter radius typically requires hyper-precise location targeting, which often increases the overall rates.
• Impression Volume: Areas with higher traffic boundaries serve more digital ads. Due to this, the deployment budget is increased.
• Creative Production: Developing dynamic, location-triggered visual banners introduces additional upfront asset fees.

Is Geofencing Legal? (And Privacy Considerations)

Geofencing is generally legal in the United States when businesses comply with applicable privacy, consent, and advertising regulations. The entire framework of this practice relies on user consent. For example, mobile users are required to explicitly opt in to location sharing through their device settings or installed applications before you can track them.

Do note that legal downsides may emerge if a business targets sensitive locations like medical centers or coordinates deceptive marketing campaigns. Federal regulations strictly penalize companies that harvest or resell location data without clear transparency. Therefore, ensure that you are strictly following the compliance requirements without stepping over the boundaries.

Geofencing Examples for Restaurants

Below, we have shared some primary examples of how restaurants have used geofencing to attract audiences and improve their sales.

Burger King: Through the Whopper Detour, Burger King offered a 1-cent Whopper deal on their app, but the offer only unlocked when customers walked within 600 feet of a competing McDonald’s location. As a result of this, the fast food chain was able to fence over 14,000 McDonald’s restaurants across the United States in the app.

Greek’s Pizzeria: This restaurant played the long game when a local pizza joint saw new competitors slicing into its business. The family-owned restaurant used geo-conquesting to deliver hundreds of new customers. But there was a twist. Instead of trying to pull people right away, Greek’s Pizzeria delayed its ads to catch patrons when they were likely to be hungry for pizza again.

Dunkin’ Donuts: On World Donut Day, Dunkin’ Donuts celebrated the day in a rather unexpected way. They launched a frosting donut filter on Snapchat, which allowed people to swap their faces with a donut. However, the filter only worked when the person was near a Dunkin’ Donuts location.

These are some of the few examples that many restaurants have used for geofencing to attract the audience and improve their visibility, credibility and sales.

What Are the Benefits of Geofencing in CTV Advertising for Restaurants? 

Hyper-localized geofencing CTV advertisements bring with them undeniable results. You’re able to build brand recognition that will help drive sales. You’ll also be able to reach audiences in your local area who might have otherwise not visited your restaurant.

Most importantly, geofencing CTV advertisements can significantly impact your bottom line. Hyper-focused advertisement means you’re optimizing your marketing strategy effectively, helping you save money in your overall marketing operations.What Is CTV/OTT? 

Before diving into the details, it’s essential to understand geofencing CTV/OTT services. CTV stands for Connected TV. This refers to video advertisements delivered to viewers during a streaming service, a TV show, and other video content on streaming devices like ROKU, TV, and even Xboxes. 

OTT, or “Over the Top,” refers to advertisements that come across various platforms over the internet, including your phone, iPad, and other mobile devices. 

Geofencing with CTV/OTT means you’re no longer bound to advertisements that can only come through commercial media providers like Comcast and others. Instead, you can reach audiences across all platforms. Most importantly, your reach is hyper-focused and localized, so you’re targeting the right audiences. 

Who Should Use Geofencing CTV/OTT Advertising? 

If you’re ready to learn how to use geofencing for local restaurant advertising, you’re not alone. This tool is growing in popularity and being recognized as an effective tool to tap into.

Geofencing using CTV/OTT advertising does not have to feel complex or overwhelming, especially when you partner with the right advertising agency. At Levy Online, our experts will ensure your restaurant has the right online advertisements to target your audiences accurately. 

Best Geofencing Techniques for Restaurants

You don’t have to be a large-scale business to tap into the potential of CTV/OTT advertising, either. Restaurant establishments of all sizes in all areas of the U.S. can benefit from the services of this hyper-localized form of visual advertisement. Let’s take a look at some of the ways geofencing can help you build your restaurant’s image:

Define Your Audience

The first step in creating any advertisement is understanding your audience. There’s something unique about your restaurant that naturally pushes it toward specific audiences. It’s important to understand your restaurant’s “it factor” and how to use it to target the right audiences.

CTV/OTT audience selection tools allow you to define your ideal audience. Is it single individuals? Couples? Families? Defining your audience helps to push out target ads to the appropriate demographics. 

Define Your Geographic Target

Just as it’s important to define the appropriate audience, it’s equally important to determine the right geographic area to advertise in. With CTV/OTT advertising, targeting nearby customers with geofencing for restaurants is easy to do and highly effective.

Being able to focus on different areas in advertising opens the door to A/B testing. This is a tactic in which you can push out specific commercials to specific areas and test out which marketing strategies work best for your restaurant. 

Create Concise Messaging

Understanding your audience and targeting the right location is only half the battle. You’ll also want to ensure that the messaging you’re pushing out is effective, relatable, and tailored to your audience.

The strategy you’ll use will be unique to your restaurant and may look different than what other restaurants do. It’s important to stick to the basics and do what you know works best for your restaurant.

Still, there are some strategies you’ll want to employ when creating concise messaging. Below are some effective pieces of information you can include in your advertisement to help drive customer service: 

• Create relatable messaging
• Identify your proximity to different landmarks
• Identify your location and whether you’re near specific neighborhoods
• Create action-oriented messaging
• Highlight deals and specials
• Emphasize what makes your establishment unique and worth the drive

Partnering with an advertising agency that understands these aspects of messaging can be helpful to you as you create targeted CTV/OTT ads. At Levy Online, our team can help you create effective marketing materials to meet your business needs. 

What Are the Benefits of Geofencing in CTV Advertising for Restaurants? 

Hyper-localized geofencing CTV advertisements bring with them undeniable results. You’re able to build brand recognition that will help drive sales. You’ll also be able to reach audiences in your local area who might have otherwise not visited your restaurant.

Most importantly, geofencing CTV advertisements can significantly impact your bottom line. Hyper-focused advertisement means you’re optimizing your marketing strategy effectively, helping you save money in your overall marketing operations. 

Geofencing for Restaurants FAQs

Sources:

Awati, R. (2022). Geofencing.

The Future of Targeted Advertising: Over The Top’s Success with OTT, CTV, and Geofencing Solutions. (2024).