Map technology becomes the ultimate weapon.

Continuing from last time, we introduce major trends from Dentsu Inc. Aegis Network Carat's "TOP 10 TRENDS" for 2016.

Mobile adoption is advancing globally, increasing the importance of map and location-based services. Closed ecosystems are forming around individual apps. For example, while Google Maps allows users to customize maps for ease of use, they cannot modify the underlying data.

Building a proprietary map information service alongside its ecosystem could become a major strength for companies. A map service designed with features and characteristics tailored to competitive advantages and user needs could serve as a weapon for differentiation.

Car navigation systems are now standard in one-quarter of all vehicles, and this proportion is likely to grow further. It is clear that map information service technology will become increasingly important once autonomous driving becomes a reality. Last August, a consortium of luxury carmakers Daimler, BMW, and Audi acquired the mapping business of telecommunications giant Nokia. They aim to differentiate themselves by strengthening map and location services, positioning themselves to compete with Google in this domain. Incidentally, Facebook, Uber, and Baidu were also among the bidders. Uber partnered with Dutch navigation giant TomTom in November.

Apple, too, has been acquiring startups with mapping technology and developing its own mapping software, similar to Google Street View. Apple's native mapping service is reportedly used 3.5 times more than Google Maps on Apple devices.

Elsewhere, Google has made available a feature allowing other companies' services to display distance to destinations and estimated arrival times on Google Maps. The new address system, what3words, precisely locates any point on Earth using easy-to-remember "addresses."

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Map services are becoming increasingly closed ecosystems, forcing advertisers to maintain separate presences across multiple major platforms.

Consumers consult maps when planning shopping trips. For advertisers, strategically targeting consumers during this planning phase—through methods like geo-targeting specific areas—proves highly effective.