A location-based SMS is a promotional text message sent to a person when they are in a specific geographic area. This approach is widely used to promote special offers or drive customers to physical stores (mobile-to-store). It can also be used to provide practical information, such as when an airline sends a text message to a passenger near the airport. Generally, sending a location-based SMS requires permission to both send the message and geolocate the recipient. While legally not mandatory for customers, sending permission is often considered important from an ethical and relationship perspective.

A concrete example of the use of location-based SMS is the ability to target a specific highway, as demonstrated by Evermaps. Various tools can be used to effectively reach the target audience to implement a location-based SMS campaign.