I am the “Mayor” of the Evanston Athletic Club here in Evanston, IL. Never heard of me? Well, you must not be one of the hundreds of thousands of people playing Foursquare. Ok, even if you are, you probably still don’t know me, but if you are a marketer for Chicago Athletic Clubs, Lululemon, Nike, Les Mills Group Fitness Programs or any other fitness-oriented organization you should know me.
Why? Well, as the “Mayor” of the Evanston Athletic Club, I’m self-identifying myself as the most frequent user of the gym through the mobile location-based-service (LBS) Foursquare. I’m pretty much giving you information on where I’m going, how often and who I’m meeting up with. That’s the beauty of LBS platforms like Foursquare. It’s a consumer data oasis. All it needs now is more people buying in.
I first learned about Foursquare last year at the MBA Media and Entertainment Conference at Columbia University. Even after being one of Dennis Crowley’s first followers it did take me almost a year to really get into it. What did I need? More friends participating! But now many of my friends, especially from my Medill IMC program, are getting into it. And we’re not alone.
Already there are more people using Foursquare in the first year of its inception than what Twitter had on its first birthday. Plus, A number of marketers like Pepsi, Bravo TV and Zagat guides are already jumping on the bandwagon by using the platform to reach the early adapters. These marketers are reaching out to users when they “check in” to offer free samples of products and tune-in reminders. For example, to promote the new movie Valentine’s Day, Warner Brothers reached out to Foursquare users who had checked in at one of ”Makeout Spots” locations listed on the movie’s website.
It’s examples like this that show how much of a gold mine Foursquare can be for marketers. You are reaching an already engaged and interested fan. The price of a coupon you can send to that person’s mobile phone is so worth acquiring that person’s loyalty.
I’m still going to go to the Evanston Athletic Club to work out (I’ve signed a contract), but it wouldn’t hurt getting an occassional free massage or a free pair of yoga pants from Lululemon. (HINT! HINT!)