The 3rd Space – A New Advertising Canvas for Virtual Content by Brett Leary

If you’re an advertising and marketing executive working within the retail ecosystem, you mightwant to take a closer look at the recent news surrounding Pokémon Go. Its parent company, Niantic, just settled a class-action lawsuit brought against it by a group of U.S. property owners.

The outcome of this case will help shape the future of advertising and commerce emerging within a new advertising paradigm that we call the “3rd space.” The 3rd space will be a new canvas for advertisers to move beyond today’s tired 2nd space digital ads. It will be a placewhere content can be discovered only via the camera lens on a mobile device or wearable.
In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs argued that virtual Pokémon content “placed” by Niantic within thebounds of their physical property led game players to trespass. Note this was content that could be seen only by users of the Pokémon mobile app when they were within a specific proximity to the content.