Stickybits Could Make Your Brand Stick to Loyal Customers

Geo-targeting social services like Facebook Places and Foursquare are all the rage. And by rage, I mean obsessive behavior. Hey, I get it, I'm cool (sometimes), I 'checkin'. But when my friends start checkin-to their own living rooms, it makes me wonder...why didn't I think of that first?!

With so much attention on ourselves, a company called Stickybits has developed a platform that draws the focus away from us, and onto the products we like, and then gives us free stuff when we scan a unique bar code. It's essentially a product checkin app. And it could be the next big thing.

Why is this cool? If I'm a company, like Ben & Jerry's or Pepsi (both partners of Stickybits), I can incentivize you to engage, buy, interact, and share my product. This is an interactive way to generate brand loyalty and, if your product comes in a case that people need to buy before they touch, it can also drive sales. As a consumer, this is an easy, and possibly really fun way to get free stuff from brands and companies you already have an affinity for.

Each product has its own product wall (check out Pepsi's here) filled with all the comments, photos, and videos left by Stickybits users. The new app adds a leaderboard, rewards & challenges button, and suggests tags to add to each post (“review,” “tip,” “question,” “random”). And, for the benefit of brands and customers, you can share each scan with your friends on Facebook or Twitter. For brands, there are also analytics and campaign management tools.

The key to this equation is how good the promotions will be. If Stickybits can convince their brand partners to serve up exclusive deals, like, say, Groupon, this will be a surefire hit. If all I get is a XXXL white, see-through T-Shirt, the stickiness of this idea will fall flat. Check out (not in) stickybits.com for more details. ~ p

(Source: Techcrunch)

Topguest 2.0: Will Virgin American Airlines Build Loyalty with Virtual Checkins? I Think Yes.

Topguest is a new platform that gives travelers loyalty points and rewards for checking in on geolocation applications. Since its launch earlier this year, you've been able to check in using Brightkite, Gowalla, Foursquare, Twitter, Google Latitude, Yelp and Loopt. Not only did you get the standard benefits, badges or promotions from the apps you used to check in, you also got rewards from Topguest when you checked in at a partner location.

You could see this app partnering with a loyalty company from miles away. Sure enough, with Topguest's 2.0 platform launching today, they are introducing some major changes, including a new partner in Virgin American. The new version also only supports Facebook Places and Foursquare, with a new mobile application for Android and iPhone. 

Using the platform, Virgin will users frequent flyer points in exchange for their checkins — a first for any airline. As Mashable reported, 'Virgin America guests can now earn an additional 25 Elevate points per checkin to Facebook Places or Foursquare — at the airline’s airport terminals or baggage claims — for a total potential of 50 extra points per flight.'

Brett Billick, Director of CRM for the airline, expands on that point: “Our innovative in-flight amenities have attracted some very tech and social-savvy flyers, so it is only fitting that we are now the first airline to offer its guests frequent flyer points for virtual checkins. Given the rapid growth of location-based checkins, this is something our flyers have actually been asking for — and we think it will give guests a compelling way to earn real world rewards for virtual checkins,”

Virgin America is just one of many new partners. The startup has formed a strategic alliance with Hospitality Marketing Concepts, meaning Hilton HHonors, Doubletree Hotels, Wyndham Rewards, Choice Privileges, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, Thompson Hotels, and Avis Car Rental are now participating as well.

This is big. Other virtual checkins from loyalty programs and companies will follow. As a quick aside, look for Facebook to make a splash of their own with Facebook Credits being used as loyalty points to reward checkins. This is just a hunch. Another prediction is that we will ultimately be able to use those earned Facebook Credits to buy real-world merchandise, online and off-line. But that's another story. ~ p