---
id: "action-vary-spatial-rules"
type: "action-item"
source_timestamps: ["§ A New Strategy for Location Targeting", "¶18"]
tags: ["campaign-management", "ad-creative"]
related: ["concept-campaign-spatial-rules", "claim-promotional-ads-close", "claim-brand-ads-moderate-distance", "framework-four-step-spatial-strategy"]
action: "Use tighter geofences for promotional ads and broader, moderate-distance geofences for brand/reminder ads."
outcome: "Matches the spatial targeting shape to the psychological mechanism of the ad, maximizing conversion rates."
speakers: ["Bowen Luo", "Bhoomija Ranjan"]
sources: ["tail1"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-tail1"
originDay: 1
articleStem: "hbr-tail-115-location-based-advertising"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2026/03/a-better-strategy-for-location-based-advertising"
sourceTitle: "A Better Strategy for Location-Based Advertising"
---
# Vary Geofences by Campaign Type

**Action:** Use **tighter geofences for promotional ads** and **broader, moderate-distance geofences for brand/reminder ads**.

**Outcome:** Matches the spatial-targeting shape to the *psychological mechanism* of the ad, maximizing conversion.

## How to execute
**Stop using a single geofence for all campaigns** (the practice formalized as [[concept-campaign-spatial-rules]]):
- **Price promotions →** target nearby customers highly motivated by low travel costs (see [[claim-promotional-ads-close]]).
- **Brand awareness / reminder campaigns →** *exclude the immediate vicinity* (where the physical store already reminds them via the [[concept-billboard-effect]]) and target the **moderate-distance band** where customers need a nudge (see [[claim-brand-ads-moderate-distance]]).

This is **Step 3** of [[framework-four-step-spatial-strategy]].