LBS Survey: Users Prefer Mobile Coupons Over Checkins Location is a central element of mobile marketing these days, with nearly every LBS provider trying to figure out the best way to leverage location-relevant mobile ads wrapped around valuable mobile services.

A new survey and report out by JiWire aims to shed some light on how mobile users engage with location-based services and what types of advertising they prefer to interact with.  Looking at the most popular LBS applications, the report shows that Google Maps ranked number one followed by Google (other LBS services), Yelp, Facebook and Foursquare to round out the top five.

What’s interesting is that coupons and discounts placed second only to maps, and out-ranked reviews, status updates and checkins when users ranked the most valuable features of location-based apps.  As the so-called “checkin craze” continues in the LBS world, it’s interesting to see mobile coupons and other offers outrank the concept in terms of features users deem most important.

Other interesting tidbits from the survey show men are more interested in sharing their location than women, and those in the 25-34 and 35-44 age categories indicated more openness than younger and older age groups.  Responses also showed that mobile users are nearly as likely to use location-based services in their homes as they are while on the go.

What the data shows is that users are undoubtedly open to the idea of LBS, as long as the services and integrated advertising remain relevant and provide value for the user.  LBS startups are still trying to find the “magic sauce” so-to-speak in terms of bringing the two concepts together, but it’s only a matter of time before a winner emerges.