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Manchester City London 2012 Olympics Foursquare

Foursquare aims to break into voucher space as it gears up for 2012 Olympics partnership

By Joe Fernandez

June 6, 2012 | 3 min read

SoLoMo – or Social Local Mobile – is rapidly emerging as the next big thing to make a major impact on the mobile marketing marketplace. While Facebook tries its hardest to play catch up in this area, backed by its pledge to invest in mobile under its IPO, Foursquare has been ramping up its deals with leading brands to revolutionise location-based marketing.

Its latest deal sees it extend a US deal to the UK with American Express to offer cashback to customers checking in to selected card merchants. On a much larger global level, it has teamed up with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to create a social-media marketing tie up enabling Olympic fans able to ‘check-in’ at a number of athletics-inspired venues worldwide.

Foursquare director of media partnerships Jonathan Crowley is the man behind the deals. He said: "These deals are great for our users. The brands will not only be engaging with their fans in locations worldwide, but also helping them find places to maintain that passion while rewarding them with discounts to complement that."

The partnership between the location-based social network and the IOC comes just weeks before the launch of the London 2012 Olympics, which organisers have billed as the first “social media Games”.

Crowley says all its late deals are indicative of a very unique and detailed desire for brand partnerships that leverage Foursquare’s platform by creating lists and “unique video content” - just for those users that participate throughout the experience wherever that may be.

Premier League champions Manchester City are another top sporting brand to have agreed a deal with Foursquare. So why has sport delivered such resonance with the SoLoMo movement?

Crowley says it comes from the brands wanting to be innovative and striving to build more meaningful and rewarding relationships with fans, wherever they are in the world. For the IOC, that’s all been about finding potential “fun and interesting ways to do just that and help raise the visibility of Olympic athletes around the world,” according to the IOC’s head of social media Alex Huot.

That reasoning rings true with Crowley on a more general basis. “People love using Foursquare to discover new places and explore the world around them. For many, a big part of that is finding Specials and savings at shops or events they love,” he enthused.

Foursquare’s recent expansion of local listings comes as the platform admits it is looking to crack the voucher space. "We are building software that's able to drive new customers and repeat visitors to local businesses," said Foursquare co-founder and chief executive Dennis Crowley. In the US, its use of campus ambassadors is ensuring that new generations adopt the technology as a way of embracing the SoLoMo movement.

Specials at concerts also means musicians like Madonna, Big Boi, Ani DiFranco, Alicia Keys and The Kooks can give their fans rewards for checking in to their shows, like special encores, backstage passes, signed merchandise, discounts, and exclusive downloads.

With such growth behind them, it’s hardly surprising that 27 cities proclaimed 16 April as ‘foursquare day’ globally. The company is sure to be one to watch in SoLoMo marketing.

Manchester City London 2012 Olympics Foursquare

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