Mobile Behavior: an Omnicom Group Company

Another Foursquare promotion debuted today, this one from the History Channel to promote the network’s upcoming premiere of a 12-hour series called AMERICA THE STORY OF US. According to their press release:

Upon checking-in to select locations, users will receive a “Fun Fact Pop Up” with interesting information about the location by HISTORY. For example: users in New York who check in to St. Paul’s Chapel will discover George Washington worshipped there on his Inauguration in 1789 and users in Los Angeles who check in at the Cinerama Dome will find out it opened in 1963 with the premiere of 'It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World' and that it’s the world’s only concrete geodesic dome. Users are also encouraged to leave their own comments about the sites for others to discover.

Companies such as HISTORY are adding a valuable layer to Foursquare, turning it into a "one player" or "single user" game. If you're following brands/media company that are proving content, you don't need to have a hundred friends on the service to get value from it. You can be a more passive participant -- a "lurker" if you will -- and still get something out of it. Building out and promoting solo use cases, such HISTORY's "discover the history of your city" proposition, will prevent the sort of drop-off and backlash we're already seeing.

Through HISTORY's promotion, users have a chance to will REAL prizes -- another key component to maintaining usage of Foursquare. Between April 25 - June 6, ten randomly selected people will win a History sports bag filled with prizes such as a Classic 1935 Monopoly Game, portable cooler, grilling tools, picnic set, and more. Certain people -- those without a hundred friends on the service -- will likely tire of virtual points and badges (if they ever cared to begin with). While it may not be the sole motivator, the chance to win free stuff will provide additional incentive to participate. Just think about how many people play the Lottery.

The truth is, the success or failure of such promotions lies with both parties. In order to really get non-tech types participating, HISTORY ought to have a LOT of promotion on traditional marketing channels -- on-air, online, email, print signage, etc. And they need to create a super-low barrier to entry for these folks. Foursquare should also promote discovery of such promotions through a "suggested" list similar to Twitter's. If I sign up for Foursquare because of this HISTORY promotion, what value will I get from it after the promotion ends? I need to easily discover new "users" to follow e.g. brands, media companies, celebrities, to keep it interesting.

In the near future, we'll see whether such promotions are a sustainable model, or if brands will tire of them once the hype wares off and they no longer get PR hits (like this one) for their efforts. Perhaps more solid metrics would help marketers justify their spend once Foursquare is no longer the hot girl in the room.

Follow HISTORY at www.foursquare.com/historychannel

Correction: Foursquare apparently does have a suggested list on the homepage of their site. Nice! I imagine most people spend their time in the app, though, so perhaps it should be integrated there and even use my data to make smart recommendations on who I should be following.