Retail chain Borders has become one of the first major brands in Australia to run a promotional campaign based around the location-sharing platform, Foursquare.
The promotion, developed by Borders’ digital agency Tangent One, focuses on rewarding check-in loyalty (DISCLOSURE: Tangent One is a client of my company parkyoung).
For every third check-in at a Borders store, customers will receive a 10% discount off all full-priced books.
According to Borders, the Foursquare promotion will be rolled out to all 26 of its stores and will stay in the market for an initial two months with more offers and campaigns already planned.
Consumer Driven
Malcolm Neil, Group Communications Manager at RED group Retail, the company that owns Borders, says impetus for the Foursquare campaign was the consumers themselves.
“Foursquare users have been checking in to Borders stores for several months and there is some very friendly but fierce competition for mayorships.
“We wanted to get involved and give those users value for their check-in loyalty and thank them for putting Borders on the Foursquare map,” Neil says.
The Future of Foursquare in Australia
Foursquare has been ticking along in Australia for a while now but doesn't seem to have broken through like it has in the US. Globally, the service has hit the three million user mark.
I've no hard statistics to back this up but you get the feeling the platform is still very much in its 'early adopter' stage in Australia. (A June survey pegged the number of users in Sydney at 60,000).
Many people got on-board Foursquare early and then jumped off again pretty quickly because it simply didn't add any value to their lives. I'm in this category, although I'm still hanging in there (just!) waiting - hoping - the location-sharing service springs to life a bit locally.
To be truly effective, Foursquare needs lots of domestic users. Heaps of them!
A critical mass of users will drive two key outcomes - (a) increased numbers of peer reviews and recommendations of retail outlets, cafes and restaurants, bars etc, and (b) a proliferation of retail promotions such as the Borders campaign above.
It's the latter that's of most interest to me from a marketing perspective.
There's a bit of action on this front in Australia, although much of it appears to be of the 'dip-the-toe-in-the-water' variety. That said, it's not exactly a costly exercise to become involved in Foursquare and the benefit to the brand of having people actively tell their friends they're visiting your place of business is pretty compelling.
Likewise, receiving targeted promotions and special offers is beneficial for consumers.
It's a bit of a chicken-and-egg situation - as more and more businesses jump onboard, this in turn will likely attract increased numbers of users. However, will we see lots of brands getting involved without the 'safety blanket' of a critical mass of users?
Watch this space!
FURTHER READING:
Vibe Hotels 'Checks In' with Foursquare in Australia
Foursquare Checks In to Vodafone Australia
Office Hopes Pinned on Social Network Foursquare
Five Ways Local & Global Brands Are Using Foursquare
Aussie First for New Social Media Tool
Foursquare Courting Local Businesses
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