Swirl Integrates Mobile Presence Platform with Google To Accelerate Beacon Industry Standardization and Scale

BOSTON, March 30, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Swirl Networks, Inc., the leading Mobile Presence Marketing platform provider, announced today that its platform is now fully integrated with Google's beacon registry and proximity APIs. The integration provides marketers with an automated solution for deploying, managing and optimizing large-scale proximity marketing programs that take advantage of Google's beacon services and communication protocols. Google recently named Swirl a certified Location Services Provider, signifying full compatibility with the Google Beacon platform.

One of the most significant challenges faced by retailers and mobile publishers in their early efforts to take advantage of beacon technology was a lack of industry standards and platform interoperability. The proliferation of proprietary protocols and closed networks meant that location and audience owners had to choose among competing ecosystems and vendor-specific SDKs, driving increased complexity and limiting scale. Google's introduction of standardized APIs for enabling proximity-based services has resulted in the widespread availability of developer tools and services that are now being adopted by retailers, publishers, software developers and hardware manufacturers.

Google's global beacon registry and Nearby API provide the foundational infrastructure that allows location and audience owners to connect in a transparent, friction-free environment. With the Nearby API, retailers and third party audience owners can enable their mobile apps to interact with beacon signals without the need for proprietary, vendor-specific SDKs. Google is also enabling its own mobile properties to interact with beacons. Nearby Notifications, Google's first major service to take advantage of the Nearby API, is now available on nearly 90 percent of Android devices. This service allows any retailer to connect their in-store location signals to what is now the world's largest beacon-enabled mobile audience.

The integration between Swirl and Google brings together the automated marketing tools and self-service capabilities of the Swirl Mobile Presence Marketing platform with the full set of beacon services offered by Google. By adding a marketing services layer to Google's developer platform, Swirl enables non-technical users to take advantage of the technical infrastructure that has been developed by Google. Swirl's automated platform enables retailers to manage and secure their location signals, while also enabling access for select audience partners. Swirl's specialized mobile presence software allows retailers, publishers and brands to deliver new in-store mobile experiences and services that take advantage of the growing beacon ecosystem. The integration addresses a number of specific needs for large retailers including:

• Large-scale audience reach – Through the Swirl platform, retailers can now permission beacon access to any mobile audience that is using the Google Nearby API, including Nearby Notifications, Google's proximity service that is available on nearly 90% of worldwide Android devices.
• Automated beacon management – The integration of Swirl's automated location management tools with Google's Beacon Registry enables retailers to easily configure, deploy, monitor and manage even the largest-scale beacon networks with no technical expertise required.
• Centralized audience management – The Swirl platform provides retail marketers with a single interface for managing the flow of data, content and services delivered through a variety of audience channels including Google Nearby Notifications, authorized third party mobile apps and the retailer's own branded app.
• Security and access control – Retailers can take full advantage of Google's secure communication protocol, Eddystone EID, and Swirl's access control capabilities to prevent unauthorized parties from accessing their in-store beacon signals.
• Enterprise-scale campaign management –Swirl's Creative Editor and Campaign Management tools enable marketers to effectively create and manage hundreds of mobile campaign variations tailored to thousands of store locations.
• Private media exchange – Multi-brand retailers can leverage Swirl's Mobile Media Exchange (MMx) solution to seamlessly extend in-store mobile marketing opportunities to their trusted brand partners.

As a certified Location Services Provider, Swirl is one of the few proximity marketing platform providers to have passed the rigorous suite of checks designed to ensure compatibility with the Google beacon platform. During the certification process, Google engineers verified that the Swirl platform met its requirements for sourcing Eddystone-enabled beacons as well as fully integrating its tools with the Google beacon platform. Swirl will continue to collaborate with Google as Eddystone's features and capabilities evolve.

"By offering its technical beacon services to the entire industry, Google has laid the foundation for a more open and scalable operating environment for everyone," said Hilmi Ozguc, Swirl Founder and CEO. "With this integration, retail marketers can take advantage of Swirl's mobile presence platform capabilities to maximize the value of this powerful capability. We look forward to continuing to work with Google to grow the beacon ecosystem and harness the power of mobile to enhance the physical world experience for consumers."  

About Swirl Networks
Swirl offers leading retailers the industry's first complete mobile presence management and marketing platform. By leveraging geofences, WiFi, VLC and Bluetooth Low Energy beacon signals in their brick and mortar stores, large-scale retailers rely on Swirl to generate greater value from every shopper visit. Swirl works with industry leaders including Lord & Taylor, Urban Outfitters, Timberland, Samsung, Oracle, Google, Facebook, Cisco and many more. Swirl is backed by top-tier investors including Twitter, Simon, Hearst, SoftBank and Longworth Venture Partners.

Contact: Rob Murphy, [email protected]

SOURCE Swirl Networks, Inc.

Related Links

https://www.swirl.com/