Despite its name,
MapQuest.com (MQST)
has been in existence before the
creation of the Internet. That is, the company was founded in 1967.
In those days before PCs, MapQuest developed traditional mapping
products. However, the company was smart enough to evolve with the march of
technology.
For example, it was in 1989 that the company moved into digital mapping.
Then, in the first quarter of 1996, the company hit the Web, with its
MapQuest.com site.
New Opportunities
The market for traditional mapping products was about $1.6 billion in
1998.
However, with the emergence of the Net, the digital mapping market
should start to show strong growth.
Mapping has become a permanent part of every portal. And most of
these portals choose MapQuest.
A great feature of digital mapping is the opportunity for targeted
advertising. For example, if someone is looking for directions between
Los Angeles and Las Vegas, that person probably needs a hotel
room.
And the audience is massive. According to Media Metrix, about 12
million users accessed MapQuest.com maps in June, which is about
19.7 percent reach of the entire Web. That is a bigger reach than eBay, CNET
and even Amazon.com.
MapQuest.com has a blend of revenues. The company derives
advertising and sponsorship revenues from its own portal site,
MapQuest.com. The company also generates licensing revenues with
other Web sites, such as Yahoo!, Lycos and Infoseek.
New Uses
The company has been very innovative in evolving its product.
Recently, MapQuest.com signed an agreement with SpeechWorks to use
speech recognition to get over-the-phone directions.
Another smart use of the technology is for wireless technologies. For
example, MapQuest.com signed an agreement to implement its
technology in the Nokia 7100 media cell phones.
MapQuest.com has similar agreements with Sprint PCS and Yahoo!
Mobile.
There are also global opportunities. MapQuest.com entered an
agreement with quepasa.com to provide Spanish-language mapping to
the online portal. After all, there are about 30 million Hispanics in the
US. This
population segment is expected to grow to 41 million by 2010.
A big advantage with MapQuest.com is that its technology may be
customized. Take its agreement with Travelocity.com. The company
needed the technology to allow for searches based on approximate
location information. MapQuest.com found a solution.
Conclusion
Mapping is a huge endeavor, requiring tremendous resources
and time. It would not make sense for a company to develop this in-
house; rather, it is something to outsource.
Yes, so far, it looks like MapQuest.com is going the right direction.
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