Not Your Recess Four Square
September 30, 2010In Elementary School Four Square was a game played with a rubber ball on a square court, today Foursquare is a much talked about app that has nothing to do with athleticism or hand-eye coordination. How techie Foursquare works is that every time you go somewhere you can check in, post reviews, and earn rewards.
As a college student living in Philadelphia I immediately can see how useful this would be when exploring new areas. However most of the population has a fairly steadfast routine which would give little incentive go to the trouble of checking in at locations. In an article published on AdAge.com, Kunar Patel reported that in a recent study
“Forrester finds that only 4% of U.S. online adults have ever used location-based mobile apps such as Foursquare, Gowalla and Loopt. Only 1% update these services more than once per week.”
Social media savy companies such as Starbucks and Pepsi have used Foursquare for promotions which could draw in a much larger user base for mobile apps. Also the integration of the mobile loyalty card application CardStar with Foursquare gives users the option of being checked at the time of scanning. The question is will it be enough incentive?
For marketers knowing where you are and how often is intensely valuable information. It can help them discover what type of consumer you are and how best to reach you with targeted advertising. I believe that until companies come up with something more valuable to consumers than a badge or coupons, people will continue to see location-based apps as not worth their time.
