Google launches Waze Local in Malaysia

Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in Malaysia can now access the ad formats of Waze in order to generate footfall through location-based marketing.

According to Google, the parent company of Waze, the GPS platform has over 100 million monthly active users worldwide, of which 5.9% are based in Malaysia. While large advertisers have had access to ad formats, now the platform is open to SMBs as well under the Waze Local banner, offering:

• Promoted Search: Giving SMBs priority rankings in search results initiated by drivers.
• Branded Pin: Flares up a sign that grabs the drivers' attention
• Zero Speed Takeover: Shows ads while a vehicle has come to a halt for more than three seconds.

Functionally, Waze Local will allow SMBs to target ads at drivers and passengers in the vicinity of a business, offering limited time incentives and deals to prompt a visitor footfall. According to the announcement, the ads appear on the map within a contextual setting, allowing SMBs to target based on geography and peak hours. SMBs will also have access to quantifiable metrics pertaining to the effectiveness of an ad in driving footfall.

While Waze appears as a preinstalled GPS navigator for OEMs in the form of vehicles and Android consumer electronics, in the APAC region it competes on a B2C level with Facebook through Local and Niantic through Pokemon Go, while on a B2B level it competes with HERE Technologies, with uses cases around advertising science, fleet utilization, and urban movement.