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LOCATION-BASED SOCIAL MEDIA FOR BRANDS

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May 2010

One would be hard pressed to find a “hotter” trend of the moment than location-based (or geolocation) social media.

Beyond the adoption by the early social media technographic segments - brands and their agencies have yet to develop meaningful campaigns, let alone platforms which take full advantage of this technology or create deeper, more meaningful engagements.

The rapid pace of new innovations/trends/inventions means any document on the subject would be out-of-date by the time it is published. The hope was to present more than just the “aggregated data”, but a bit of inspiration which leads to ideas that delivers value to brands and users.

This document is intended to evaluate this enabling technology and its possibilities with the realities of delivering on business objectives from awareness, preference, advocacy creation, and of course the overall impact to revenue.

Douglas LinHead of Digital StrategyBBDO/Proximity Singapore douglas.lin@bbdo.comtwitter: dlin

INTRODUCTION

Table of ContentsIntroduction 2

Overview 3

A Brief History 4

Why Now 5

An Evaluation 6

Why we are Supporting It 8

Applicability 9

• Location Guide / Nike True City 10

• Incentivized Brand Engagement / 11 Gowalla & The New York Nets

• Loyalty & Reward Programs / 12 Topshop & tasti D-lite

• Training & Orientation / Harvard 13

• Social Responsibility / Gowalla & 14 Peet’s Coffee - Hearts for Haiti

China: A Blip on the Radar 15

Evolving Platforms and Toolsets 16

Next Steps for Brands & Agencies 17

Conclusions 18

Appendix 19

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Geosocial networking is social networking utilizing Global Positioning System (GPS) to associate a user’s position with their activities. User-submitted location data allow social networks to connect and coordinate users with locales and/or events that match their interests to enrich the social networking experience.

Brands can now play a part in users’ daily lives, not through disruption or broadcast means – but through engaging users within the course of their everyday lives. Geolocation now allows the “how” and the “where”, to go along with the “what” and “why” of marketing communications.

OVERVIEW

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Two platforms currently dominate the space – Foursquare and Gowalla. Both were founded in the United States and have become synonymous with the current trend of geolocation based social media.

At their core, they are very similar and provide users with gameplay aspects in the form of collection of “badges” or “pins”, which then translate into “mayorships” or “founders”.

As the platforms have evolved, differences have become less pronounced as the community has helped dictate current and future features and development.

However, the space is not limited to these. Twitter, Facebook, and Google, among others, now all include location-based features and capabilities.

A BRIEF HISTORY

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Location-based services are not new.

From smoke signals to drums, the basic principles of location-based communications extend as far back as recorded civilization. The current iteration is simply a result of existing technology with the latest crop of commercially available products and services.

What is new is the cross-roads we are at in which social media based communication have now gained mainstream adoption in most of the world. GPS technology now provides a range of new and interesting possibilities for how people engage with one another – which creates an opportunity for brands to connect with a variety of different users in ways which were difficult if not impossible before-hand.

However, detractors say the current crop of location-based platforms appeal to a limited audience of technology enthusiasts and that the encouragement to announce one’s every move is a foolish breach of privacy, and narcissistic at the same time.

As with all social media, it’s less about the technology and more about user behavior

Geolocation based services have existed for the last few years with the introduction of GPS on handsets and cellular triangulation (user location based on mobile tower positions). The technology has not caused the recent boom in attention, rather it has been the adoption of game-play, competition, incentives and sharing – behaviors people are already exhibiting in the social media space.

Factors for recent uptake include: Maturing Social Media populations – comfortable

posting, sharing commenting within digital based channels Pervasiveness of 3G networks + GPS Enabled

Smartphones Integration of new platforms with existing Social

Media platforms

A successful strategy, and understanding user insights are still paramount in utilizing a mobile tactic within these platforms.

WHY NOW

A Precursor?

Nokia viNeReleased: September 2008

Nokia viNe is based on Sports Tracker (a GPS based sports monitoring application/service) which tags a user’s content (photos, posts, etc) including the location and plots your journey on a map. On the website you can look at and share your journeys, filtering by user, place or time.

There’s also an online widget which you can place on your blog or Facebook page, allowing others to see what you’ve been up to.

Nokia viNe could be considered a precursor to the modern GPS based Social Media platforms, but arguably never gained worldwide mass in terms of adoption or usage.

Some potential reasons include:

User base limited to a single manufacturer platform and specific handset models

Created a continuous “Journey” as opposed to capturing single instances. Requires users to actively decide to create a thread of participation as opposed to incremental check-ins throughout their normal daily behavior

Not tied to existing social media platforms beyond broadcasting posts. Not targeted “friends” or existing user-defined communities

No ongoing incentives for behavior – either for quality or quantity of viNes.

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The current numbers are miniscule in comparison to more established social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter

However, the potential for growth exists due to the worldwide increase in smartphone users and the growing access to high speed mobile networks.

Recent data indicates smartphone shipments will reach 406.7 million by 2014, and will account for 29 percent of the total global handset market. 6 out of 10 people worldwide now have access to a High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) networks.

Technological Trends Support AdoptionBesides the obvious uptake in location-based social media platforms, other international trends support a positive outlook for adoption.

Maturation/Continual growth of Social Media platforms Smartphone Sales and Adoption Netbook/Tablet based computing options Pervasiveness of readily available Wifi 3G+ Network adoption

Metro specificBecause these current iteration of platforms focus on cities, and appeal to young, social technorati urbanites - criticism has been leveled about its applicability to suburban and rural areas.

“Badges” and “Founders” however require mass. And beyond population base – income levels, high-speed data access, and behavioral trending all lend itself more to establishing a core audience within metropolitan regions.

More importantly is the pass-along or “influencer” effect that tends to originate in urban areas and ripples outwards, which necessitates focusing on this core audience for future growth.

AN EVALUATION

Figure 1: Social Media World Wide User Base

Figure 2: Technology World Wide Statistics

“Foursquare’s potential limitations become clear. The game mechanics--badges, points, “mayorship” crowns--and ability to source tips and recommendations from the app give it a little bit of an edge above just finding your friends. But many of the badges themselves-- 10 different pizzerias, five different Starbucks coffee shops, a venue where at least 50 other Foursquare users are checked in--are best suited to dense urban areas, too.”

Caroline McCarthyCNET News.com April 20, 2010

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Global urbanization continue an upwards trend.

As of 2008, over half the world’s population now live in urban areas, and while “More Developed Countries” still maintain the highest overall percentages of city dwellers, the next few decades will see large scale growth in the “less and least” developing world – particularly in Africa and Asia where the urban population numbers will double between 2000 and 2030.

It is estimated that by 2030, cities in the developing world will make up 81 per cent of all urban humanity.

Considerations

Potential hurdles include the integration of monitoring, reporting, and analytics. With an increase in the quantity of platforms – common metrics and integration with social media, traditional site and media statistics will further cloud the criteria for business “success”.

Additionally, potential privacy issues and government regulations could stifle growth.

AN EVALUATION

Figure 3: World Wide Urbanization Trends / Forecast

Foursquare and Gowalla

To date, Foursquare and Gowalla have enjoyed the most mainstream success in the United States and Western European markets, with increasing adoption in Europe, Asia, and Australasia – specifically in larger metropolitan areas.

The majority of brand participants have been with companies with a physical retail footprint – from local coffee shops to multinational chains like Starbucks. Secondary brand participants have been content channels – TV, magazines, etc.

Recent figures indicate businesses are offering more than 2,100+ discounts or giveaways to Foursquare users as of May 2010

Starbucks has recently announced the first-ever nationwide mayor special with Foursquare

April 2010, Foursquare signs-up the millionth user of its location-based software

Foursquare reportedly added over 15,000 users a day as of May 20, 2010

Gowalla announced a partnership with National Geographic and The Washington Post promoting a new service feature

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The distinction between “who we are” within a “digital” and “real” space was more of a marketing construct of our imagination and was precarious at best.

Social media based technologies have simply made us more effective at maintaining relationships far greater than we could through face-to-face or analog channels. More importantly, it has allowed users to leverage their own spheres of influence to broadcast individually or create groundswell as part of a larger group (community).

Foursquare and Gowalla are the current market leaders. But major online properties including Google, Facebook, and Twitter have all recently added their own location-based service offerings. As opposed to muddling the waters, the entry by these players will bring an increased awareness and adoption by less

technologically savvy users through the introduction of geo-location features into existing channels.

Emphasis will become less platform dependent – as long as content is readily and freely accessible. This is because open Application Protocol Interfaces (APIs) are now the norm, allowing users to access data outside of the fixed confines of a platform. For example, Foursquare data now readily appears and can be accessed on Facebook, Twitter, Google Buzz, LinkedIn etc. Regardless of the platform – distributed content models will allow users to participate from within their own preferred platform(s).

As status updates to tweets evolve, check-ins are fast becoming an instilled user behavior. Leveraging this behavior is the first opportunity for the development of a virtual for brands to build engagement on.

WHY WE ARE SUPPORTING IT

Apple Patent Developments

On May 13, 2010 the US Patent & Trademark Office published a new location-based system from Apple.The new technology allows content to automatically appear and disappear via an application on the user’s mobile device based on their physical location of the handset.

The two examples demonstrate this potentially powerful delivery mechanism:

Example 1: RestaurantA user approaches a restaurant. The handset automatically receives realtime data from the restaurant including: Wait time for a table Menu including any daily specials

Example 2: LibraryAs you enter a public library, The entire card catalog including the status of all books/media currently available is downloaded to your device. The day’s events Calendar of events Status updates for any books the user has on-hold, overdue, etc

The value of the system is that once you leave the area, all the location’s data disappears from your device.

The potential applicability for brands is obviously significant.

User Comes Into Range

Location Information Identified

Server Identifies

Content based Information

Mobile Device Receives

Information

Display Content on

Mobile Device

Location Information

Communicated to Server

User Leaves Range

Location Information Identified

Server Identifies

Content based Information

Mobile Device Deletes

Information

Content no Longer

Available on Mobile Device

Location Information

Communicated to Server

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1 Awareness Geo-location platforms can help create awareness of event/product(s) through providing proximity information. Extends branded communications through social media channels.

2 Educate Brands create and users contribute information which can be presented based on proximity, thereby creating an interactive web of knowledge.

3 Brand Affinity Brands have another channel to showcase their core values and product strengths.

Unlike traditional word-of-mouth, social media based user advocacy is recorded and can be leveraged over time.

Furthers reach for audiences to engage with the brand.

4 Response By understanding a user’s behavior (time, location) with a brand, targeted incentives and promotions can be communicated, further bolstering purchase intentions or increasing product trials.

APPLICABILITY

Geolocation platforms on mobile handsets extends the bridge from social media into the physical world.

Marketers have always utilized data such as demographic and psychographic information to segment and target influencers through to prime consumer prospects. Location will become another (albeit very powerful) attribute for marketers to better target their audiences.

Personalized communications content based on user profiles and activity in the digital and physical space

Removal of barriers to facilitate user/brand engagement

Improved engagement based on segment usage patterns

Increased depth of content, including user generated/requested

Communication frequency and content based on user self-selection and activity

Best practices learned in existing Social Media development including research, measurement and insights – allow users to refine and define engagements – are all still applicable and require a financial and operational investment in ongoing monitoring, content development, and platform evolution.

1Awareness

4Response

2Educate

Brand Affinity

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LOCATION GUIDE / NIKE TRUE CITY

1 Awareness 2 Educate 3 Brand Affinity 4 Response

Nike developed the “True City” iPhone application to provide information on various European cities, created by “Nike experts”. It engaged users by allowing them to update content with their view of what a “true city” should be – to combine social elements with current mobile technologies to create a next-gen city and travel guide.

With each city comes a host ‘tastemaker’ to guide users to lesser known community attractions. For Paris, it is BKRW founder Jay Smith. However, Jay’s perspective alone is not enough, as an addition to each host there is a second tier of designated contributors and a third of so called ‘civilian’ contributors. Everyone is encouraged to add their own finds, geo-tagged, throughout a city. The best,

(or most popular) will have an opportunity to join the team of Nike insiders. It appears that Nike is reaching for an army of hyper-local, mobile-connected advocates.

In addition, a QR code reader allows users to unlock secrets around the city. Events were announced through these QR codes, giving an added social incentive for being the first to be in the know. The app reveals where new Nike events are taking place, where there are secret QR-codes in each city or even new Nike products to be launched, creating an interesting community where you can be rewarded on your own or by sharing to the rest of users. All content can be shared via Facebook.

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INCENTIVIZED BRAND ENGAGEMENT / GOWALLA & THE NEW YORK NETS

1 Awareness 2 Educate 3 Brand Affinity 4 Response

On April 2, 2010, Gowalla released a post on their blog to officially launch a campaign which gave Gowalla users the opportunity to win a pair of tickets (out of 250 pairs) for a New Jersey Nets (a National Basketball Association Franchise) game. The campaign targeted sports-themed and outdoor locations in order to reach an audience that was either enthusiastic about sports or active. To extend the experience, virtual goods redeemable for memorabilia would be given out during the game.

To leverage the traffic and create an extension of the platform, winners were directed to a Gowalla branded table where they were rewarded with t-shirts, stickers, and their tickets. They were also reminded to check-in to the event to have a chance to win one of several jerseys the Nets provided for the campaign. During the game, pictures were taken and many public Twitter messages highlighted the user experience.

The campaign was able to drive attendance to the game. 15.2% of Gowalla users who redeemed virtual tickets came to the game and brought a friend, family member, or significant other with them.

Many of these attendees then spent money on parking, concessions, and merchandise. The user experience continued at the game. 89.5% of winners in attendance checked in upon arrival and were actively engaged because of the ability to win a reward.

Gowalla users found the reward of a Nets ticket a new and different experience. The campaign brought a demographic the New Jersey Nets would never have reached in the first place.

Geolocation could open up experiential and event opportunities. Contest winners help create word-of-mouth awareness for followers, and engage during events providing content (photos, video, and commentary) to enhance the experience for attendees – including non-users of these platforms. They also provide valuable insights and options post event, which can be used for future seeding activities for follow-up campaigns.

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LOYALTY & REWARD PROGRAMS / TOPSHOP & tasti D-lite

1 Awareness 2 Educate 3 Brand Affinity 4 Response

Topshop

Singaporean fashion retailer Topshop rewards its consumers for engagement within the Foursquare platform. Users who check-in and provide a tip for the brand receive a reward of $10 redeemable on the spot with a minimum $80 spend. The Mayor of a location gets a $15 item (limited to every Tuesday from 2pm, once a day). On an ongoing basis, weekly fashion mayors get to win a host of exciting merchandise every week at all participating outlets.

The brand extended beyond Foursquare into Twitter and Facebook to include developing communities by incentivizing follower and fan signups. By joining the “Fashion Fast Forward” Facebook fan page, users could win “gift cards”.

Topshop extended their Foursquare activities with a campaign called “Snappin’ Surprise” which focuses on the lull or the “rest break” during the shopping experience. Topshop focused the activity around the the comfy “lounge chairs”. This behavior targets those with a higher propensity for engagement – as well as a more highly technology engaged male segment.

Users could engage by:

Commenting on photos of the “rest spots”, including guessing the retail location you think these chairs are at. Visit retailers and and check-in on Foursquare Winners (one per chair) received a physical Foursquare badge and a Topshop/Topman gift card.

tasti D-Lite

New York healthy dessert chain tasti D-Lite developed a virtual loyalty card – the mechanics of which are very similar to a traditional stamp or punch cards.

But by utilizing social media platforms, users who opt-in can update their Facebook and Twitter status by automatically checking in on Foursquare at articipating tasti D-lite outlets. Loyalty points however are earned for purchases by each for each social network connection you set up.

tasti D-lite is able to leverage social media to create brand awareness and advocacy by developing the “word-of-mouth mechanics”. The existing user behavior, of visiting a retail outlet is augmented by the value exchange – customers get points towards future purchase, the brand gets more visits and a share of the user’s voice.

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TRAINING & ORIENTATION / HARVARD

1 Awareness 2 Educate 3 Brand Affinity 4 Response

American Ivy League university Harvard created a campus-based game that rewards students with badges and points for exploring the school and surrounding places of interest. The service enables students and visitors to explore the campus and surrounding neighborhoods while sharing information about their favorite places and culminate into a Harvard specific badge.

“Harvard is more than classrooms and buildings. It is an interconnected community of people, ideas, and experiences, and we are actively pursuing ways to enhance those connections,” said Perry Hewitt, Director of Digital Communications and Communications Services for Harvard Public Affairs and Communications. “We believe that Harvard’sparticipation will allow our community to engage with

friends, professors, and colleagues in new ways. We also hope visitors and neighbors will benefit from the platform as it grows through use.”

For brands, the use of geolocation creates the opportunity to develop induction or orientation programs. Potential uses include internal training and development, where physical location can be tied into specific training programs.

It can also be utilized to create branded journeys for consumers. Similar to guided “audio tours” at museums – which aren’t intended to replace, but augment experiences, location-based check-ins can be used to extend beyond a single physical location with potential ties into sponsorships .

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SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY / GOWALLA & PEET’S COFFEE - HEARTS FOR HAITI

1 Awareness 2 Educate 3 Brand Affinity 4 Response

Following the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Gowalla partnered with Bay Area businesses Peet’s Coffee & Tea and Alice Radio to create a benefit campaign called “Hearts for Haiti.”

For every user who checked-in on Gowalla on February 8th, 2010, at two designated Peet’s retail outlets – $50 would be donated to the American Red Cross. Peet’s also donated 10% of all sales made at the two locations during the effort.

Brands focused on Social Responsibility programs could utilize location-based platforms to incentivize and track consumer behavior. By engaging in sponsored or approved activities, brands could provide virtual incentives similar to cause “Ribbon” pins.

Checking-in at charity events could provide an opportunity for targeted engagement based on common beliefs and values. For example, at a lung cancer 10K run, brands like Johnson & Johnson could provide Nicorette offers and information to help smokers quit. Or checking-in at a set number of specified “Green” location could unlock incentives for a brand’s sustainability programs.

Volunteer recruitment could also use this channel to broadcast requests. A “We still need volunteers” tip at a specific location extends reach and provides real-time updating capability for organizations. This also has applicability for employee recruiting as well.

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CHINA: A Blip on The Radar

Geolocation based social media has seen a rapid take-off in America & Europe, as well as the tech-savvy nations in the Asia Pacific region such as Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore. In China where the “Great Firewall” resides, we are also beginning to observe inroads being made into the market.

In December 2009, numbers on the Foursquare platform hit 500, and has seen steady growth. In Beijing & Shanghai, tech-savvy users have managed to get Foursquare working within their personal Virtual Private Networks (VPN). These tech-savvy users invest personal time to stay informed and updated on the latest happenings on the slew of social media products hitting the market.

Central to Gowalla and Foursquare’s burgeoning success has been the integration with Facebook and Twitter, both of which are banned from the regular Chinese netizen. The key to unlocking the platform within China (and other markets with limited access and restrictions) could be based on integrating with the local government sanctioned social media platforms. However, the potential issues of user privacy data as well as the political and PR fall-out with users in other markets could outweigh any commercial benefits.

On June 4, 2010 China blocked access to Foursquare. It is believed to be tied to the upcoming 21st Anniversary of the Democratic Protests at Tianamen Square, and the number of check-ins and “Tips” critical of the Chinese government. It is unknown whether this is temporary or will remain permanent.

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EVOLVING PLATFORMS AND TOOLSETS

Retail/Brand DashboardWith the overall focus on analytics and reporting, Foursquare has recently introduced a Retailer Dashboard which gives business owners access to a range of information and statistics about Foursquare visitors to their establishments.

This includes:

Who has “checked-in” When they arrived Male-to-female visitor ratio Active times of day per visitor type Ability to offer instant promotions to try to engage

new customers and keep current ones.

Staff can also engage directly with users via the tool. Users have the ability to set privacy settings to opt-out and keep their information private.

White Label – Private Geo-location PlatformsSan Francisco based DoubleDutch has introduced a white-label platform for developing branded and closed networks. The company provides custom-built check-in applications, and has just announced two new features:

Conferences: A networking app that helps conference attendees network and share knowledge.

Universities: A mobile social network that allows university students the ability to share location and info with each other under the privacy of their university’s community.

The value of the system is it creates “micro-communities” outside of a user’s personal profiles on existing Social Media platforms based on either locale or common (business) purpose. So for conferences – you would be able to engage with a group of attendees without the external chatter and provide a level of control specific to the organization’s needs.

The level of customization allows for more specific locales (an office within a building) and can include real-time mapping and live streams based on user activity. It also includes a pre-existing database of reviews and content which reduces the burden of content creation and maintenance.

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NEXT STEPS FOR BRANDS & AGENCIES

Consumer preferences on brand awareness and perception can be of significant value in developing processes for innovative products and services.

Potential geolocation services in mobile have to deal with a high uncertainty regarding consumers’ acceptance and intensity in use – but is appropriate for specific audience segments or strategies with innovation based objectives.

Near Term Tactics/ExtensionsExtending traditional Advertising campaignsOne of the most obvious short term tactics is to utilize location-based check-ins for experiential based campaign activities. Creation of event specific “badges” and incentivized user engagement is a low risk mechanic – both financially and for brand reputation. It also allows brands who are less active in the social media space to identify leads and target users with broader influence for future campaigns and ongoing engagement.

By requiring event check-in, and allowing users to move beyond posting their own content, geolocation platforms allow users to start engaging directly with the active community participating at the event, as well as potentially with users viewing via digital channels from afar.

FMCG/CPG Tie-InsFor consumer package good companies with defined retail distribution, the opportunity exists to target users with e-couponing and/or promotional tie-ins. The ability to directly engage users, either independently or partnered with retailers, creates the opportunity to develop behavior-based engagement – for example – if a user checks into a supermarket or convenience store, a brand can offer an incentive for purchase – even targeting traditional lulls in purchase either by date or even to time of day or event.

ExperientialFor brands already engaging consumers with “integrated” campaigns including experiential elements, location-based technology augments the role SMS has been fulfilled. Outdoor/Display advertising interaction can utilize location-based services to allow users to interact with dynamic media and target personalized messaging

MediaMedia opportunities exist beyond targeted offers within the platform. Aggregated location check-in data can be used to define media strategy for a tech-oriented audience and mobile specific behavior. Out-of-home digital placements could use surrounding area check-in data to help target ad placements and personalize incentives and offers based on nearby users. For example, when ten users check-in nearby, digital signage can be triggered to display targeted advertising based on an aggregation of their profiles.

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CONCLUSIONS

Like any emerging technology based consumer trends, location-based social media has its advocates and detractors. The arguments against however are very similar in nature to the same ones previously directed at other technologies which in hindsight have proven (mostly) unfounded.

So long as the technology is consistent and compliments existing human behavior, the applicability will find a place with users – whether niche or mass.

The more relevant argument is which platform(s) and aspects of the current iteration are likely to live beyond this initial growth phase. Gameplay and badges are the first steps, and while they have been successful for pushing the platforms in themselves, for brands – the opportunity is in how to partner with these technologies to develop the next evolution for what these technologies can deliver. Hopefully the examples provide a glimpse of the possibilities.

While never a sure bet, geolocation based social media provides more direct tangible business benefits. It is also less risky than proprietary platforms and properties requiring large capital and operational investments and is a natural progression for brands already (or about to enter) the social media space.

As the adoption of this technology becomes mainstream, brands need to identify how to position themselves within the user’s behavior to intercept them with relevant and valuable branded communications. Integration of communications channels resulting in a comprehensive engagement platform where digital (online, mobile, etc) and “real” world activities work in concert

Geolocation based social media is nothing to be scared of. But whatever innovation paths brands choose to follow, education and training for the customer-focused staff to deliver on the user experience must be developed in parallel. A great online user experience doesn’t mitigate, it magnifies the expectation of an exceptional brand experience.

“The future as always belongs to the brave” Bill Bernbach

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APPENDIX

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