I'll admit it. I don't check into restaurants or stores. I don't broadcast my location across my social networks. But I am married to an avid check-inner. In fact, my husband is not only the mayor of our local burrito shop (yep, we eat burritos a lot!), he is also the mayor of our local park. I'm so proud of him!
I am also fascinated by the culture of the check-in. And while the local burrito shop hasn’t rolled out the red carpet and offered him free tacos for his loyalty, many retailers and eateries are offering incentives for regular check-ins. The business of geo-location services is skyrocketing. According to a recent survey of 6,000 Foursquare users, 77% of users checked in 30 times a month and brands such as Starbucks, MTV and MurphyUSA are eager to connect with consumers who are game to check in. At ad:tech New York we’ve devoted an entire track to this burgeoning sector of the new media business and I’ve been fortunate enough to program speakers for one of those
sessions: Geo-Loco@ad:tech: Location-Based Advertising—Here, Now and on the Go (Foursquare, Gowalla and Beyond) on Wednesday November 3 at
4 p.m. (http://www.ad-tech.com/ny/session_detail.aspx?refad=1&session=1537)
The inimitable Greg Sterling of Sterling Market Intelligence will lead the session and we’ll hear directly from brands and geo-location services on what’s working best in reaching consumers in this new medium. Speakers include Gowalla’s Andy Ellwood, MTV’s Kristin Frank and the team of Jeff Holden from Whrrl and Casey Peterson at MurphyUSA.
