An Ohio county strikes marketing gold with geocaching

Tapping into the mobile technology of GPS, Athens County in Ohio has managed to bring in more tourists and benefit surrounding businesses in the process with geocaching, WOUB reports. 

The news source explains that geocaching is essentially like a tech-assisted treasure hunt, and that there are more than 80 caches in Athens County alone.

"It's had a great economic impact and it's been really successful and a lot of fun to see," Jenna Dill, Athens County Convention and Visitors Bureau marketing and sales manager, told the news outlet. She added that while Athens residents constituted some of the geocaching participants, 60 percent of the people who had done the trails were from outside the ares.

Dill added that the activity has had trickle-down effects for local companies, and she estimated that the attraction has generated an economic impact of approximately $500,000 since June 2010.

"We've had a lot of people come from outside the area, and everyone that's traveled in from out of state has stayed overnight, which has been pretty awesome," she said.

Geo-targeting is also becoming a powerful tool for marketers, who are developing tactics that send special offers or relevant ads to consumers' smartphones based on where they are at any given time.