After lunch at the Tavern, I decided to swing by REI to obtain a new pair of sunglasses for my outdoor shenanigans. What I found was an interesting twist on mobile interactive marketing. REI had a sign at the door promising to donate $1 to the Hill Country Conservancy for every person who publicly checked in at REI today, via Facebook Places (FB's answer to Foursquare, Gowalla, Whrrl, et al).
Most of the articles I've read about the potential of mobile social networking as a marketing tool have focused on the potential of such services to promote deals, sales, give-aways, and so forth to certain people based on proximity, check-in frequency, or check-in order. I've personally used offers on Gowalla for discounted lattes at Austin Java and on Whrrl for free appetizers at J. Black's. What I had not seen until today was a business offering up charitable donations in exchange for publicity on Facebook. I thought it was an clever concept (encouraging your customers to advertise your business and sponsorship for you, all for a relatively low price) and it certainly made sense for REI to be operating such a program. REI is, after all, a non-profit co-op, and people can buy gear at REI which can be used on land which has been protected by conservation. Moreover, supporting conservation programs is part of the image which REI should portray to existing and potential customers. It will be interesting to see if more Austin businesses have sponsorship programs such as this.
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