Early Proof That Geolocation Marketing Will Succeed

[...] View more presentations from guest43ee0f. You can get the case study here. What do you think? Do you see value here? Does GoWalla have a chance to unseat 4square? I think it [...]

[...] Early Proof That Geolocation Marketing will Succeed [...]

I am excited to see the feedback!

This is truly awesome. Great work guys, I'm excited to see how this evolves.

Thanks man! We're amped up to see some of the great ideas other brands come up with utilizing geolocation platforms in the coming days, weeks, months, and years!.

Just downloaded this bad boy. Excited to read.

I am working on tweet-ups for our company and think this could be a very worthy thing to study and great tool to use.
Very good stuff. Thanks for providing this.

Kyle, hope you enjoy the case study! Let us know if you have any feedback or questions.

When I try to talk to local businesses about how to use geolocation tools as a marketing tool I'm often stuck for an answer other than the typical giving discounts to those that check in at their location and further deals for foursquare mayors.

This gowalla virtual items thing is a great idea and I'm glad to see the experiment worked.

I've been saying for awhile that hype-local advertising will blow up. If I tweet from my phone that I'm at a Starbuck's, I'd expect to see an ad from Tim Horton's with 20% off for coffee and a donut.

Looks great guys. Reading it now…

Thanks for the kind words scH! We're very excited about the opportunity with virtual goods and geolocation as well.

Michael, thanks for the comment! You're thoughts are right in line with ours. Won't be long now.

Thanks VaynerMedia for putting this out in the forefront. The pat response to not putting up marketing dollars for digital media campaigns is “show me the ROI.” We can talk till we're blue in the face, but until case studies (like this) show the real value it's hit or miss on who will listen.

Like you, I'm excited about location-based SM platforms, and see great value in how companies can leverage the technology. The applications are limited only to our imagination!

Wow. You could easily have charged for that case study. Thanks for sharing it with us. I will definitely review it several times.

Thanks Jonathan, please let us know what you think once you've finished!

I still need to read the case study, but – the real question is: Did this technique actually bring in real ticket sales? I think GEO has promise, but I think the Gowallas are missing something that would take this to the next level. I'm not sure what that is, I just have a feeling that this whole thing isn't quite baked yet.

-Phil

We're really excited about this case study and happy to see you see its value! The possibilities with geo are insanely interesting. Hoping this will help stimulate the conversation.

Awesome job guys. Incredible conversion rate. This completely changes everything and turns GoWalla from check-in to check-out as far as business ROI is concerned.

Ron, love it! Thanks for the feedback. Glad we can showcase what we thought was a very awesome campaign.

I still think this is an incredible step in the right direction. This is the conduit between geo-location and real business ROI.

Sam and AJ, your presentation is great – very lively and captivating indeed with a nice personal touch. The pictures speak for themselves. Maybe you could highlight the value of it a little more in your blog post, in order to entice readers to actually download it. Just my two cents

Hi Phil and Kate, thanks so much for the comment! As to your question, while your point holds true that wasn't our actual goal of the campaign. Our thought was to use the unsold tickets and provide them to consumers who would enjoy the game and also drive revenue to the Nets through parking, merchandise and concessions.

In addition to that, if I were a betting man, I would bet hard that a fraction of the winners will attend another New Jersey Nets game in the near future – we heard great feedback, especially from the Dad + Son combos!

Very interesting to see such a deep case on the issue. Well communicated. Great start and it shows how focused marketing efforts might be able to drive future business results.

Some thoughts:

* Why a 75-mile radius? Why not focus on the zip codes or known Nets season ticket holders or attendees based on team data?

* Would have been great to track how much those customers were worth. Maybe sub-branding the concession stands and having them as check-ins where coupons could have been given “e.g. “Buy $13 of food, get a free XXX.” (Note: that also is a future co-op opportunity with Coca-Cola, other onsite vendors.

* Great job of using offline media in the stadium – the video replay board was really smart as it drives new awareness to the other fans in attendance.

* Would love to know what post-marketing activity might be looked at. Any communication? Any packages to that fan base and anyone buy future tickets?

* And of course…if sending this out to prospective clients, a note about owning a stake in Gowalla beneath the “Why we chose Gowalla” part might be needed. ; )

Cracking article, and great report.

I think this report will provide me with a little more ammo when trying to pitch to new and existing clients about the real opportunities of the “social” web and with new Geo based services.

Well done guys!

Geoff, great to hear! We really believe in this space and think event marketing on geolocation platforms is truly going to blow up!

Appreciate the kind words! We feel the same as you.

Brian, from what I know both foursquare and Gowalla have been driving a lot of users to their service but there are definitely spots where one service has more than the other. For more information on Gowalla, FourSquare, and other geolocation platforms and their user base I'd check it out here: http://gigaom.com/2010/03/21/foursquare-gowalla…

Aye.. very excited too.

Now I better have a dig around the Gowalla site to see how much it all costs to start dropping items, and organising events. Have a few great ideas for a couple of clients.

*Engage Hustle Mode ON*

Markus thanks so much for the kind words! I appreciate your comment re: balanace between the case study and blog post. That was definitely something we played around with and we probably could have went 100 different ways with it. Will keep in mind for our next case study / blog post combo!

Would love to come on. Shoot me an email at staggart@vaynermedia.com and we can figure out when's best to make it happen! Thanks!

Ian, thanks for the kind words man! Completely agree with you – geolocation marketing has a huge chance to make a lot of noise over the next few months / years. The value provided in each campaign will truly be a differentiator in each individual campaign's success.

I cannot download !.Error message says ” This drop has reached its realtime user limit.
You will not see realtime changes or be able to chat until other users leave the drop.
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Working on it!

This all sounds good in theory but when it comes down to it, who really wanted to be targeted by ads by where exactly you are. Say you stop in Walgreens, how long do you really stay in Walgreens? < 5 mins? Speaking for my self I'm in and out. Lets forget about that, isn't the point of checking in so your friends can see where you are? Instead it seems the motive behind it all is ad revenue, maybe I'm wrong but I'm just saying.

Hey Anthony, thanks so much for your comment. In our view this is much more about adding to the user experience by rewarding users with redeemable goods instead of an ad. We find this as a great way to allow brands to show off their experience or products to users and in turn have users enjoy a new experience for no cost. From what we saw during this campaign, Gowalla users were thrilled to win free tickets to a Nets basketball game.

Thanks again,
AJ

Any time AJ, well to add to that, I see why Nets ticks would work, who doesn't love free tickets to anything. I personally never used Gowalla ( I have and still use foursquare ) and I'm just curious is there a way to opt-out of any ad distribution of any kind on Gowalla? But in the end free things are a plus and I would personally appreciate things like that but the second I see a spammy ad, I'm ditching it. But good luck on your adventure!

Anthony, so the “ad” is actually a virtual good. You can opt to pick up the item or simply click away from the item. The entire virtual item aspect of Gowalla is integrated to the user experience of the platform. Gowalla has given away other virtual items ( free tacos, adobe software, cell phones ) and I haven't seen any chatter from Gowalla users about the ability to opt out. Here is a techcrunch blog post that talks about a campaign Gowalla did within Apple Stores: http://techcrunch.com/2010/01/05/gowalla-virtua…

Wow. So awesome. I Gowalla and have begun to realize what incredible potential this has for brands and not only driving consumers to events but imagine if you check in at the grocery chain and in exchange you get 10% off your purchase today as a reward. How many times will you go back and check in to see what kind of discounts you get for just checking in. Creates brand loyalty and good will to consumers who otherwise might go grocery shopping somewhere else. Here is my prediction. Facebook announces purchase of Gowalla by this time next year.

as someone who picked up one of the ticket sets but wasn't able to make it to the game – it was a pleasant surprise. a bit more enticing than becoming a mayor somewhere and getting a drink special.

J. Patrick, 100%, it's very much about brand loyalty. The grocery chain concept is a really good one as well! Thanks for your comment.

John, sorry you weren't able to make it to the game, but thanks for the comment. We think there is tremendous value in virtual goods which can be redeemed for real-life rewards.

Karmen, you're very welcome! We're thrilled to be able to share the campaigns success.

I'm very intrigued by this type of marketing and see it almost as an extension of the on location radio and or television broadcast… only better because my friends are there? Now if there were a direct connect to a site, facebook, or twitter account at that location (giving me one more and of the details of why) that would be even cooler… Is that happening now???

Great case study. Geolocation has so many possibilities and it so exciting to see it in action! Fantastic Job. I wish that a Gowalla app was available for the BB.

Nice job, what is the slide show program you used bad ass

The embed we used is from slideshare.net/ – great place for this kind of thing!

Thanks for the kind words!

After reading your presentation, I think you guys have knocked it out of the park.
I live in St Louis and think this would be a genius thing for the St. Louis Cardinals to start using. They have a program similar to this experience that provides fans a chance to buy left over tickets for 5 bucks, but they could do so much more with this and geolocation. Now just to figure out a way to get in contact with them and have the conversation. That sounds like something that is impossible. But I think it is needed and maybe vaynermedia could lead the way for these franchises. My head is spinning with ideas.

Paul not exactly sure what you are looking for. Shoot me an email: aj [at] vaynermedia [dot] come and I'll be thrilled to help you out!

I'd really like to see GoWalla unseat 4square. I don't want to become the mayor of any place.

Robin thanks so much for the kind words!

Thanks for the case study! I love Gowalla!!

Really interesting I'm going to have to try it out, thanks for the info.

Kyle, glad we got you thinking! I am extremely confident that you will see many sports franchises utilizing geolocation marketing similar to what we did with the Nets and Gowalla!

Thanks Erik

We're huge fans of Gowalla and Foursquare and are super confident there is room for both to succeed!

Nice article, Gary. Very good info!

Thx for this. Exciting to see geolocation used for something other than “go to this biz & get a coupon”. In Tampa I could see big impact at sports, charity & chamber events, fundraisers etc. I have been reluctant to date to push the “4corner” solution to clients new to social media. It is simply over their head and shows little value. Now events folks are passionate about.. now you're talkin'! Good work!

Interesting take. We'll see. The only way 4square wins me over is when they take themselves seriously.

It is great to see companies such as yours buying into and pushing new technologies with your current (and new) customer base.

Most people I know have heard about geo-location software but don't really see the point of it. This type of marketing isn't just a win-win for Gowalla and the New jersey Jets, but also for the end-users as this will help promote the use of the technology.

[...] by VaynerMedia about a campaign they facilitated between the New Jersey Nets and Gowalla.  As explained on VaynerMedia’s blog, “Through the campaign [they] distributed 250 pairs of tickets as [...]

Got to tip my hat to Josh Williams. Quite the epiphany it must have been when this idea hit him one day. Also, way to go Gary and AJ for seeing the huge potential in this. That case study said it all and I totally agree that this is a WONDERFUL way to get rid of seats/rooms that are vacant as well as driving people to future game with the knowledge that they will have a chance to win something or get a discount at every game they go to. Talk about win-win. Hey I had a new customer come in for his free mini sub and drink last week using my geolacation givaway and now he comes in every other day. Thanks

You should up @andyellwood (from Gowalla) on twitter

Friggin brilliant! I had wondered when we would be able to figure out a way to develop a currency from the items we find.

Now, I want to be able to create my own items to drop that help me market my own products .

Let me know how you like it!

Nathan, I think the whole geolocation space is super young and will be making some interesting moves soon!

Thanks for the comment, and _awesome_ job creating a geolocation campaign of your own!

1. You definitely need users using the service in your area. If you only have 5, you can give away 5 free lunches

2. Yes I have definitely seen businesses advertising their social media presences.

Thanks Jeff! We're proud of the campaign and happy to share the results. Geolocation + Live Events = Home run!

Loved this presentation and will be sharing it with the Non-Profit I work for. I was confused by Gary's quote at the end:

“The results of this campaign further demonstrate why marketers have understood and embraced
geolocation for their business so quickly, as opposed to other social media platforms such as Twitter
and Facebook.”

Twitter was shown, throughout the slides, to be a key measuring stick for interaction beyond Gowalla. Was this supposed to be “in addition to other social media plaforms”?

Enjoyed the case study! Had 2 questions:

1. Can you convince anyone that if you'd given 500 tickets away by a means other than geolocation/Gowalla the turnout/return on investment would have been any different?

2. Would you agree that if these tickets were given away for instance to people who called into a radio show, the recipients would have been even more likely to attend, as they would have been prescreened as 'people willing to make a phone call to get the tickets' as opposed to just random geolocation checkins?

-M

This idea is brilliant, go for it. Increased efficiency through the utilisation of otherwise unused inventory is a win for everyone – except those not making any/best use of this form of marketing! Great idea. Best of luck to you all.

Thanks Pam! Really appreciate your comment. The events space has a lot to gain from geolocation.

Geolocation is new. The conversations are only just beginning as to how these services can bring value for businesses and consumers. We're excited to have launched this case study and hopefully get discussions going now! Thanks for the comment!

I love the creative way you are using location marketing. I was just speaking to a client who owns Chocolate Mountain Images about doing a scavenger hunt in a small town outside of Atlanta….Acworth. Have 15-20 business promote a community fun scavenger hunt where they check in at 15-20 local business using Foursquare. The local businesses get lots a exposure. The possiblities are unlimited.

We have Youtube and Facebook clearly marked on our Expedition vehicle and it works!

A great campaign and liquidation idea. Do you plan on opening this up to affiliates or will everything be run through you?

Creating your own items? Hmmm… Cool idea! Not sure what Gowalla is going to say about that one! Thanks for your comment!

Mike, thanks for commenting. Definitely great opportunities for for non-profits with events & geo. Gary's point was that Gowalla's/Geolocation's ability to help brands drive business / make money is far more evident early on (consider that Geolocation is still very new) than Twitter/Facebook.

Pete, the scavenger hunt idea is a great idea & something we've thought about in a variety of ways. The possibilities are truly endless!

Richard, thanks so much for the kind words about the campaign. This is just the beginning for geo!

No idea what Gowalla's plans are, but anyone can do a campaign like this without VaynerMedia!

atrain714, thanks so much for taking the time to take a look at our campaign.

In our opinion a 15.2% return rate was a success. We dropped tickets all around NJ, NYC and CT and were able to get 70+ people to attend an NBA game at the Izod Center on a Monday Night. For reference, the Izod Center is a tough travel including a 45 minute commute from NYC which involves a train and a shuttle. A failure? I think if no one showed up we would consider it a failure, believe it or not, we would have been excited with 1 person showing up since this was a true test and learning experience.

Point 2: I think attendance has a correlation to the amount of people who showed up to the game. Also resorting to a traditional campaign would have not given the Nets brand all of the additional benefits of this case study and this wonderful conversation

Point 3: Super fair. I don't think this campaign would have worked everywhere, but I think as Gowalla, FourSquare and other geolocation platforms grow, than the opportunities for other cities to execute similar ideas will become more realistic.

Last point: I have to disagree. This is the first instance of this kind of campaign and the critical mass of geolocation services isn't anywhere near where it will be!

Dylan, nice point. Have seen http://www.dirtyphonebook.com. We really think that the live events space is just one area that can be impacted very much by geolocation.

Hi elixirbeth, don't want to be redundant but I covered our thoughts on why this is “proof” and “successful” here: http://vaynermedia.com/2010/04/early-proof-that…

Copy and Pasted here too:

In our opinion a 15.2% return rate was a success. We dropped tickets all around NJ, NYC and CT and were able to get 70+ people to attend an NBA game at the Izod Center on a Monday Night. For reference, the Izod Center is a tough travel including a 45 minute commute from NYC which involves a train and a shuttle. A failure? I think if no one showed up we would consider it a failure, believe it or not, we would have been excited with 1 person showing up since this was a true test and learning experience.

Point 2: I think attendance has a correlation to the amount of people who showed up to the game. Also resorting to a traditional campaign would have not given the Nets brand all of the additional benefits of this case study and this wonderful conversation

Point 3: Super fair. I don't think this campaign would have worked everywhere, but I think as Gowalla, FourSquare and other geolocation platforms grow, than the opportunities for other cities to execute similar ideas will become more realistic.

Last point: I have to disagree. This is the first instance of this kind of campaign and the critical mass of geolocation services isn't anywhere near where it will be!

Very nice. Thanks for sharing.

Probably worth noting is porn using geolocations to try to get you to sign up, here's these hot lasses near “geolocation”

Of course you could do it without VaynerMedia but why. I think this is going to tap an underused market that has been waiting to explode. Great job laying out your research.

Glad to see someone actually taking the idea to the streets, instead of just throwing out random could bes. Found the case study to be interesting and someday will be an awesome new marketing avenue for businesses.

No problem! As with everything on the Internet, pornography/adult social networks will surely attempt to make its way into geolocation.

Steve, we hope so! Thanks for the comment!

NW, Appreciate it. That “someday” may be very soon. We'll see!

If you're utilizing social media, links & logos are absolutely valuable to place on any promotional tools (e.g. flyers, pamphlets, windowfronts). Helford, glad to see you've seen value from it.

Hi Sam and AJ,

What a really good article.

I think it's a shame more winners didn't make the evening but it’s more the story of the people who did & the interactions they had with other people and the 2 brands on the day. What a great photo of @bdallen s son and the Mascot, there’s 1 potential life long fan for the Nets.

These are the first steps in this direction and you are showing the potential of Location based sites like gowalia. Every one reading this knows this hasn't hit main stream and is no where near it's tipping point!

e.g. My cousin only joined facebook last week, my dad sent his 1st email last month! (to my mum saying surprise), while my mum is on her 2nd Iphone, my niece 3 and my nephew 5 got a ds lite & wii for Christmas. That's without looking at geography and affordability.

Also have to mention my great friend @andrewjscott who I think was way before his time with http://www.Rummble.com an English social network site http://blog.rummble.com/whatisrummble that's potential can now shine through as mobile technology catches up with his vision…… and also the relevant search functionality we will soon ALL demand.

What better way to get recommendations than in real time from people you know (either offline or online) and that's just the start. People looking checking in looking for part time work in real time, someone surfing the net thinking need money down load an audio file do some secretarial work get paid.

Also just read @nicktadd 's interesting thoughts on 4square and potential business uses (property amongst others).
http://propertytribes.ning.com/forum/topics/usi…

Which I think you would like and do check him out http://socialmediagraffiti.com as I think he bit like @garyvee are standing on the edge looking forward!

Also please check out http://mediasnackers.com as again on top of there game.

I @putneyproperty am trying to help people find property in putney, if you write putney on twitter I read it. Not to spam but to say hey I’m here and if I could help I’d love too (when it’s relevant). I want to promote the cool things where I am lucky enough to live and work, I feel like I’m on holiday everyday here, so of course I want to share : )

Reading this I also realise I have a geo location problem I think you can help with…….. I would like a decent wheat free sandwich in my local area and hope social media can help! http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=116985058… so will you bring a little happiness to a boy in Putney, London?

So Sam & AJ, well done and really pleased you guys are sharing, I think in the near future businesses will read your report to a chorus of nods and mutters of “of course” : )

I think my underlying issue is the ability to move people. I can hear my boss now saying “So your promotion had an 85% failure rate of getting fans to our games.” Geolocation services are in its infancy and I don't see them becoming effective enough to justify implementing them right now.

-Alan

Appreciate it, Robert!

This is an awesome idea. I would be interested to see how a very large company could put this to use. Image the things Google could do if they implemented geolocation and google maps into a contest of some sort. Thanks for sharing guys.

Scruss, thanks for the comment! The fact is that this was a test. Geolocation is incredibly new and the possibilities for what can be done are endless. We'll see bigger brands using geo in the months and years to come. Exciting times!

Cool report, i love the visual style of vayner media

Alan, I completely understand your point, but I think you have to look at the circumstances of the campaign. We targeted Gowalla users ( not basketball fans ) within a rather large radius of the stadium. In addition to that the game featured the Nets and Bobcats (two NBA teams, but one was the worst team in the NBA, and the other did not have a household name on the roster). Final points include the fact that it was a Monday night and that in order to get to the Izod center from NYC, you need to take a train and a shuttle.

I hate to sound as if I am making excuses, but I think the “conversion rate” would be MUCH higher in many different scenarios.

We're incredibly proud of the content of the case study, as well as the design. Thanks for commenting, Tyler!

1. Matthew, I am sure there are other ways to give out tickets that may or may not have a higher conversion rate. That being said the Nets were able to attract a desirable demographic while also creating a new and exciting experience for those users / fans. Also, there is the added value of acting in an innovative manner in the sports marketing space.

2. I would agree with you on that point. Then again I think people calling into the radio provides far less word of mouth ( we saw amazing, positive tweets re: random check-ins ) and also depends on the target audience (what kind of radio show?)

Thanks so much for the well thought out comment!

Thanks for the kind words Tyler!

Absolutely! I think that geolocation can be effective / valuable for many types of businesses outside of the events space. Say you're a car mechanic… Why not offer a free oil change or tune-up to people who check in to locations near your business? That's just one example, but you can see how businesses in the service industry can benefit from geolocation. The idea is to target a local audience, attract them with a significant-enough incentive, and grow brand awareness/loyalty in the process!

Later indication that geolocation will not succeed: Someone will be killed as a result of a tweet or a status update that includes the location info….

@PutneyProperty,

You're very right. Geolocation is in such an early stage right now, we are only beginning to see a fraction of its potential.

Hadn't seen Rummble before you passed it along. Looks really interesting. Appreciate you passing on the other links as well. You're clearly passionate about the space and considering how different elements of social media can benefit business.

Best of luck getting that wheat free sandwich to Putney!

Sam

Nice case study – scavenger hunting that leads to continued interaction is the move. Something that is greatly lacking in terms of the “Facebook Age” is a reason to play in the real world. That said, the awesome thing about the “Check-In Age” is obviously the game nature, but also the ability to bring people (strangers) of similar or dissonant interests for that matter, together.

One thing I'd really like to see in Gowalla is the ability to exchange badges redeemable for real goods between users, if say they play a mini-game together, perhaps.

Again, nice job – keep the info coming.

Batman, thanks for the comment. I think that you highlight a very real and valid concern with geolocation and social media in general. By giving others notification of where you are (or aren't), you put yourself at potential risk for harm. In fact, http://pleaserobme.com made news recently for highlighting this very thing.

That being said, I've never seen or heard about anyone being hurt / harmed because of letting others know of their location. While you bring up a legitimate point, it's just not fair to pinpoint social media & geolocation platforms as dangerous for personal use. We have to understand the risks associated with telling others where we are, and live with them.

LAYERxlayer good stuff. I agree with you, gaming “real life” has a lot of potential for brands. Excited to see who comes up with what!

And thank you for the kind words!

AJ

[...] Vayner Media, and The New Jersey Nets teamed up to try and answer this very question. In the world of geo anecdotes, The New Jersey Nets are like the empty hotel, filled with rapidly [...]

@alan and @AJ re: this post —-I think my underlying issue is the ability to move people. I can hear my boss now saying “So your promotion had an 85% failure rate of getting fans to our games.” Geolocation services are in its infancy and I don't see them becoming effective enough to justify implementing them right now.

If your boss has the mentality that he looks things in a negative view point like you noted- this specific type of service offering (or any for that matter) will never fly. IMO why would you continue to engage with someone that narrow minded – but that's a whole other scenario – I do agree that geolocation services are in their infancy and companies taking chances like this will pave the way for other forward thinking companies follow suit.
It frustrating that the majority of people think that if there isnt a path to “Clear success (as they define it)” they wont even partake. it takes guts and a fair amount of risk (always knowing that failure is probably going to happen in most scenarios) to do these types of endeavors.
and it's very cool to see the vayner guys promoting and showcasing their insights into this type of evolving scenarios…

AJ-

I see your point on both counts, thanks for the well thought out response!

-Matt

(as to what kind of radio show, I was thinking about local sports talk radio, in fact I you repeat this exercise, I'd probably encourage you to include the local radio shows, extra exposure is always good, no?)

Also I'm not 100% sure there ARE local radio shows that follow the Nets, I lived in Boston for a long while where there are 2 full time talk radio sports stations now.

It will happen Batman but more people will die from texting while driving in one month than your scenario in a year

did u really Robert, a little Stumble Upon?

Yup me too Jon!

Hey Matthew, I definitely think a sports radio show would be more likely to attend since they are sports fans. I think the “even” scenario is if we gave away these tickets on a technology radio show via call in. Only because our Gowalla users aren't necessarily sports / Nets fans.

Janna, the major differentiator in this example is the fact that we utilized a geolocation platform to run this marketing initiative. I think this is only the beginning of this type of marketing.

Robert thanks so much for the kind words. I think the kudos should go to the Nets marketing department – without their willingness to “try something new” this would have never happened!

The case study is gorgeous. This is the kind of stuff most companies won't share (caveat: most companies don't have a vested interest in the LBS).

Acquire / Retain
LBS has so much potential not only in acquisition and retention. I love the idea of giving away inventory that would potentially be lost (almost like a free priceline model) in order to promote another revenue stream. Hotels, buses, airlines, car rentals, restaurants with perishables (like sushi, meats, etc), package stores (IPA should be enjoyed fresh), supermarkets etc can all take advantage of this technology to try their products or services for “free”. [Imagine combining checkins with actual revenue streams (via passive streams like blippy) to see what people buy after they come to your event or place?]

Extension of Revenue
How about also giving them further incentives if they take pictures of the property or event. I think the picture aspect of Gowalla is so important. It gives you a sense of what people think is important about an event or place. Imagine I take a couple pictures of the resort and you offer me further incentives, particularly if I share them on other networks. Does the “reward” aspect of LBS have to stop after the PCP (post checkin page)? What would be the impact of offers on an already captured customer?

Adoption of the Technology
I think right now that it's just as important to make sure that all of our campaigns promote the ease of adoption of the technology as well as its benefits. The more people we get using this stuff, the more effective it will be. Look back to the SICK deals we got in the early days of eCommerce. Those were the hook. We cannot forget the hook.

Love to get together for a LBS summit to talk about ways to use this stuff as well as ways to get people to adopt certain technologies. Say the word and I'm in NY. I love the potential of this stuff.

Hey AJ,

Don't get me wrong – I think from an exposure perspective it's awesome. I just think that's not enough these days. I thought about the concessions and merch, but I didn't think the Nets got any revenue from that, rather other companies (that's been my experience anyway working with some minor league teams).

Phil

jonathannelson – I do too, but like I said, there's just something missing that would take this to a whole new awesome level.

Hey Phil, just to answer your statement re: Nets and revenue – I can confirm that the Nets do make a portion of concessions, merch and parking.

I think that missing element is time. As the user base grows and as the platforms grow geolocation marketing will too. That's just my opinion

Also, have you had a chance to read the entire case study?

Love the case study Not a huge Gowalla fan because it has no simple web site interface for the non iPhone nonDroid lowly WinMo smartphone users out there, wink, (also, some privacy issues with not being able to hide location, etc) but even so… the point that Geolocation services like Foursquare and Gowalla can move people is huge. Can't wait to see these things coupled with QR codes, Augmented Reality, etc generating real time heat maps of this type of action.

Outstanding Job, great idea and amazing case study – Did I mention that the idea you gave it for free, it freaked me out? : ) Thanks for sharing this valuable insights with all the community. Keep on rocking it!

Hi Guys,

Great job with the campaign.

How do you think a similar campaign would work with a b2b event, like a professional conference for 200 or 500 people. Do you think the buzz generated to give away 10-20 tickets at the last minute would make sense? Would it devalue the brand of the event (make us look desperate?)?

[...] Media has posted an analysis of their recent Gowalla/New Jersey Nets promotion. It’s an interesting read, but [...]

Hey AJ!

What an amazing case study. Plus, the presentation of it was superb!

While reading through the case study, I jotted down some ideas that I think would redefine how churches and organizations can leverage geolocation marketing to market their events, services, and products.

You guys have uncovered what I believe to be the future of marketing, advertising, and consumer engagement. You're one of the first to offer valid market research on the success of geolocation marketing.

Thanks for sharing your insight and experience with the world.

[...] to an innovative use of the geolocation service by Vayner Media, virtual currency became actual currency in the form of free tickets to a New Jersey Nets game at [...]

And as I replied on Twitter, all it will take is one high profile case like I describe, before people start changing their tune. As I get more space here, I can elaborate. You're right about the rob me site, and I haven't heard of anyone actually being robbed as a result of checking in at 4square or Gowalla. However, at the same time, that doesn't mean that it hasn't happened. And I realize that I'm attempting to prove a negative here.

I also know that if someone wants to find you, they'll figure out a way to do it without you giving out your location info. At the same time, why make their job easier? I just think, The Law!!! will kick in, and someone's going to get hosed. Or worse.

Sam, great points. I think that this is an early test as to what geolocation can do for businesses (namely in the live events space), not necessarily what it will do. Because (as you mentioned) it's so early in the game for geolocation, and the platforms are still very much only used by early adopters, the returns are going to be lower, you're going to hit a smaller audience.

I don't think we would ever tell a brand to rely their marketing tactics solely on an application. This is an instance where a brand (the Nets) had expiring inventory (tickets) that were going to give them zero value. Instead, they utilized a platform that exposed them to a new audience, brought some business to the arena, and got them a ton of brand mentions and brand awareness (pre-campaign, during the campaign, and now post-campaign).

Like we said in the blog, this type of campaign is applicable in a lot of different manners (e.g. amusement park, fast food chain, etc), and the results will only continue to get more impressive as we move forward. So, when will companies be comfortable with trying? Who knows? Many companies still aren't comfortable with the idea of Facebook pages or Twitter accounts. Progressive brands will start using geolocation very soon (e.g. NBA doing it for the playoffs) and it will grow from there!

Antwon, thanks so much for the comment and the kind words! I'm excited to here that the case study got you thinking about real-life applications! A big goal of ours was to get the conversation going. We feel we proved real business value for brands using geolocation in this study, and we're thrilled to hear so many people brainstorming their own ideas.

@JKostecki, Thanks for commenting! I'm glad you bring up the B2B event, because we nearly included it as one of our examples in the blog post. I can 100% envision a situation where a conference isn't quite sold out and the organizers leave tickets at an Apple store or around the local college campus. Of course, people who have already bought tickets may be a little upset at this, but maybe you give them the chance to win free tickets as well (e.g. announce 5 free tickets through geolocation early on, and then the attendees won't be able to say they didn't have the chance. I, personally, definitely think conferences can (and will) use geo in the manner you've suggested!

Israel, appreciate the kind words! You're not the first person to tell us we should have charged for this case study! We're happy to share these results with as many interested people as possible, at no cost. What has been so awesome is the feedback and conversation the case study is generating. So, thanks for your contribution to the discussion!

I think you're right, unfortunately. It definitely will happen. However, like Gary said, “more people will die from texting while driving in one month than your scenario in a year.” We put ourselves at risk with everything we do in life. There will be a big debate once someone is hurt/harmed because they gave away too much information on social media, especially if it's with a high profile user, but I just can't see geolocation (social media) being pinpointed as a dangerous tool because of it.

I appreciate you bringing up this argument. It's a very interesting debate!

Geolocation is unfortunately very limited at the moment (only smartphone friendly). I think that all geolocation platforms are carefully assessing their situation and the size of the smartphone audience and making decisions as to how to deal with it. In five years, we won't be having this problem anymore, but it's definitely a concern (and limitation) right now.

Geechee_Girl, thanks for the your comment! Gowalla certainly has limitations, like you've described, but this is very early in the geolocation “game.” They, as with everyone else, will be ironing out features/capabilities and building for the future! I think we're in for some really exciting times!

Well definitely shout it out when you're working well/available on all phones with web+gps ability so we can give you another try.

Mike, appreciate the well-thought out comment. I think you bring up some really fascinating scenarios and I tend to agree with what you've said. LBS has potential well outside of the events space, that's for sure. I like the “extension of revenue” section, as well. I don't think the reward has to stop once people have checked in, and I don't think it will! We'll be discussing LBS for the months and years to come, this is just the beginning. Love the potential as well!

Thank you, and while Gary is correct, apparently, there are laws at least in my state, that forbid texting while driving, however, people still do it. It's interesting to note that someone just tweeted the article about Zuckerberg stating that the age of privacy is over, even though that was back in the beginning of the year. I don't mean to be a fearmonger, however, I do believe it will happen, and it's only a matter of when, and afterward, there will be a huge backlash, and geotagging might take the brunt of it.

[...] Early Proof That Geolocation Marketing Will Succeed document.getElementById("post-2437-blankimage").onload(); [...]

[...] Proof That Geolocation Marketing Will Succeed – Link – 500 ticket vouchers dropped at area locations – 76 redeemed [...]

David, thanks for the suggestion! We thought about conducting a survey after the game, but decided against it. We wanted the process to be as easy/seamless as possible for the winners, and create the best user experience we could!

We are very early in this geolocation “game.” The fact is, we've been able to see a clear ability for geolocation to drive business / generate revenue very early on. The platforms will continue to improve and the smartphone audience will continue to grow. We're excited about the future & glad to help the conversation move along.

I don't work for Gowalla, but definitely keep an eye out. They're constantly making improvements!

I won free tickets to that game, but wasn't able to get to NJ to attend. There also wasn't a way for me to “decline” the prize to let someone who could have taken advantage of it instead.

While I found the case study to be fascinating in how geolocation services are becoming essential for business, I'm not convinced that this event was indeed a success for geolocation and the Nets.

A 15.2% rate of return is positive but how much of that is because of the brand equity of Gary and AJ? Both have an enormous amount of credibility and influence in social media.

I'm curious, AJ, how many of the tweets did not reference you or Gary? How many people found this event organically through either the Nets, the NBA or Gowalla?

Nater, sorry you weren't able to attend. Gowalla winners were actually able to drop the items and many did so, however, that wasn't carefully detailed anywhere in the campaign, so it's understandable that you weren't aware. In future campaigns, we'll be absolutely sure to include that information. Thanks for your comment!

Keith, appreciate the comment. Just some clarification:

None of the winners who came to the game did so because of Gary & AJ. While their credibility & influence is unquestionable, they did not have an impact on the campaign. They did tweet about the partnership, but only to create awareness. The people who attended were simply random Gowalla users who checked in to targeted locations in the NYC/NJ area and found virtual tickets.

Next to none of the tweets referenced Gary, AJ, or VaynerMedia. And next to none of the winners even found out about the event from the Nets, the NBA, or Gowalla. The process of winning tickets was completely independent of whether or not people were aware of the campaign (through AJ, Gary, or anyone else).

Hope that clears things up!

hey gosam,

all i got was an email from a “no-reply” address, saying to go to wherever the game was on a date and get tickets from the gowalla table (or something along those lines). no link, address, telephone number, or any specific contact information regarding the promotion. what if i had been a 15 years old user unable to claim a prize?

i actually had to ask a friend of mine at espn where Nets games are held in order to find out they took place out in new jersey. then he told me not to bother because their season had been so terrible (who could have predicted that they would have had that crazy night the day after).

also for the record. i had totally been unaware of the campaign until after i had won the tickets.

i hope this can be seen as constructive sharing of my experience. and if you guys want a hand in the future, i have been working in interactive/marketing/advertising/promotions since the 90's.

Nater,

Really appreciate your feedback and we definitely take it as constructive. This was our first campaign of this nature, and while we are incredibly happy with the success, we know we made some mistakes along the way. We've already decided that in the future, we have to give the winner a bit more information up front.

That being said, it wasn't our intent to have people know about the campaign ahead of time. It was more of a test as to whether people, who were seemingly randomly rewarded with a ticket to an NBA game, would then take the initiative to attend the game.

Again, thanks for your comment, and will consider your advice for future campaigns!

[...] Early Proof That Geolocation Marketing Will Succeed (tags: geolocation location sports geotag) [...]

[...] Early Proof That Geolocation Marketing Will Succeed – This is an interesting campaign run by VaynerMedia. The use of geolocation for a crappy NBA franchise showed promise for larger companies or brands looking to make an impact. Check out the case study below. [...]

That @SchneiderMike is a smart cat. Just sayin

I’ve skimmed over the long comment thread so, I apologize if this has been asked/answered before.
This case study is really interesting. Kind of reminds me when Gowalla dropped 10 orange iPods all over the US for Christmas.

My question is, “If I want to do something similar tomorrow, for one of my big client, how should I proceed?”

Gary is an investor in Gowalla, and the Nets a client of Vaynermedia, so I’m sure this has “helped” setting up such a marketing promotion. But what about everyone else? Will Gowalla have the salesforce to deal with any other marketing agency out there, or will we see “Location-based media space” middlemen ? And when?

I know this industry is still in its infancy, but for those convinced of its success, how can we kick-start it ? How much does Gowalla charge? Do they charge? Is it exclusively for net-celebrities, or can any other agency give it a go?

@gary, @ajv any feedback on this?

[...] According to Vayner Media, about 15-percent of the winners actually redeemed their virtual tickets for a seat at the game. That’s about 76 people. It might not sound like a lot, but that’s some extra cash being spent at the arena. Plus, who knows? Maybe they’d never seen a Nets game before and were converted into fans. That’s unlikely, since the Nets only won 12 games this year while playing some of the worst basketball we’ve ever seen, but whatever. [...]

[...] According to Vayner Media, about 15-percent of the winners actually redeemed their virtual tickets for a seat at the game. That’s about 76 people. It might not sound like a lot, but that’s some extra cash being spent at the arena. Plus, who knows? Maybe they’d never seen a Nets game before and were converted into fans. That’s unlikely, since the Nets only won 12 games this year while playing some of the worst basketball we’ve ever seen, but whatever. [...]

[...] Study of how geolocated marketing may succeed – Need more tests to prove point – some controls? [...]

Hi Tim, thanks for the comment.

Gary's involvement with Gowalla is most certainly not the “barrier to entry” with Gowalla. As mentioned in the case study Gowalla has made deals with other brands we are not associated with including Adobe and Sweet Leaf Tea.

To answer your question of how to kick-start it, I would recommend reaching out to Andy Ellwood from Gowalla – he does biz dev and is who we worked with on this campaign. @andyellwood – http://twitter.com/andyellwood

Steve, thanks so much for the comment. Your thoughts are DEFINITELY in-line with ours re: the values of customer acquisition + lifetime value through campaigns like this.

Thanks for the answer AJ.

Fantastic idea! This is exactly the way to leverage social media: a product people usually like but not at the moment. I never understand why teams let stadiums sit empty if ticket sales are low. If the Red Sox (or whatever team I was near at the time) were terrible I'd go to games for free or cheap if sometimes I could get the “good” seats or win a prize. If the Nets (or other team) gave tickets away like this to a number of games they could have a generation of fans in place to buy season tickets when the team picks up.

Mike, appreciate your comment! We agree. The Nets were excited to reach a different demographic than fans who typically come to games, and plan on doing a lot more with Gowalla next season!

Great case study guys! I really believe this has huge potential! I hope you can help out the NHL too

Fabrice, thanks so much! Glad you see the potential in geolocation, as well!

[...] VaynerMedia has early proof that geolocation marketing will succeed. [...]

[...] According to Vayner Media, about 15-percent of the winners actually redeemed their virtual tickets for a seat at the game. That’s about 76 people. It might not sound like a lot, but that’s some extra cash being spent at the arena. Plus, who knows? Maybe they’d never seen a Nets game before and were converted into fans. That’s unlikely, since the Nets only won 12 games this year while playing some of the worst basketball we’ve ever seen, but whatever. [...]

[...] Gowalla and NJ Nets Tix Giveaways Gary Vaynerchuck (a co-invester in Gowalla!)’s VaynerMedia posts a case study of the recent NJ Nets (VaynerMedia is Nets’ agency) tix giveaway on Gowalla. Early [...]

[...] via VaynerMedia [...]

Hi Sam & AJ,

Keep wondering how my first blog post ended up being about social media? I blame @GaryVee (but in a good way : ) & this case study started me off…… (this is my 2nd comment & my virgin blog)

It's quite long so I put it here.

http://www.linkedin.com/groupAnswers?viewQuesti…

Hope you have time to read it,

thanks Daniel

http://www.HappinessEvangelist.com

Daniel, nice job on the blog post. I think what you're doing is fantastic: thinking out loud about the opportunities that exist within social media. Now that you've started the blog, keep on bringing up topics that are important & interesting to you! Continue to add to the conversation!

[...]  Sports clients include the NHL and the New Jersey Nets. We will be discussing thier recent case study on geolocation marketing completed with the Nets as well as future social media opportunities for [...]

Thanks for the kind words Sam : ) I also just read this too that makes interesting reading & shows what you guys are doing is so new it doesn't even rate a genre/type yet to most big businesses!

Global Social Media Checkup http://ow.ly/1D3eX Really good read : ) thanks @heleana_quartey

[...] you haven’t yet done this, go and download their white paper about this initiative, it makes for a great companion for what you are about to [...]

Baby steps in the UK too (Premier Football & FourSquare should & will be a winning combination, just not yet)

http://www.mobile-ent.biz/news/37022/Man-City-v…

Baby steps is right! It's very early on in the location-based “game,” so I think even these results should be seen as a nice win! Thanks for passing that article along.

[...] Association’s New Jersey Nets are a VaynerMedia client. Last month, VaynerMedia facilitated a campaign between the Nets and geolocation platform Gowalla, which some of you might have read. This month, the Nets have found another fun way to incorporate [...]

[...] The Nets Leave Free Tickets at Sports Locations – The New York Nets hid free pairs of virtual game tickets throughout New York City sports [...]

[...] of Facebook Deals is that it supports giving businesses back control over their virtual space.  Our Gowalla/Nets campaign, for instance, wouldn’t work as easily on Facebook because we would have to strike deals with [...]