Restaurant guide Zagat has been working hard to shed its pages and better compete with digital properties such as Yelp and UrbanSpoon. They’ve made their website social through their blog, Zagat Buzz, created a mobile optimized website and mobile applications, including one that use augmented reality. Now, they are going both mobile and social through a new integration with Foursquare, the popular location-based service.
“Zagat’s mobile strategy has always been to make our content available to customers wherever and whenever they need it,” Zagat’s Ryan Charles tells us. “Our partnership with Foursquare seems like a natural progression. There is an obvious synergy between Zagat’s expertise in helping people make quick, informed dining decisions and Foursquare’s location-based platform.”
Zagat’s integration aims to tap into several of these components:
Editorial Content
One aspect of Foursquare is about learning new information about places. When a users “checks in” at a venue, they will often see a “tip” pop up about where they are or somewhere nearby. To date, these “tips” have largely been left by fellow users, but by friending Zagat – something that is conceptually new to Foursquare--users can see tips from their editorial team. These might tell you an entrée to try, recommend the best night to dine, or tell you what dessert to save room for. Check them all out on Zagat’s new brand page. Charles says since dining and nightlife are the foundation of the growing Foursquare community, “Zagat is positioned to be a key part of that ecosystem.”
Game Play
Part of Foursquare’s appeal is competition – users are rewarded through a system of points, mayorships and badges. As such, the app turns into an ongoing game, both encourages use of the service and making it more fun and social. Zagat tapped into this aspect of the platform with a Zagat “Foodie” badge, which users can earn when they check into any five Zagat-rated restaurants. “Foursquare users are checking in to thousands of Zagat Rated restaurants and bars every day,” says Charles. “Now they can utilize Zagat’s trusted content when they are on the go and enjoy added gameplay incentive at the same time. “
Loyalty Rewards
One particular recognition on Foursquare is the “Mayor” honorific, which is bestoyed upon the user who frequents a venue the most. Unless the venue has a “Mayor Offer” that rewards this user, the appeal of this honor has just been social capital i.e. looking cool for other users. Zagat is creating an extra incentive through a new “Meet the Mayor” series in which their blog editors will be interviewing mayors of Zagat restaurants. These most-loyal customers will be asked questions like “why is this your favorite place?” or “what could you do with your mayoral powers to change the restaurant?’ The interviews will appear as a series for their blog, Zagat Buzz, and their email newsletter through zagat,com. We are having fun with the idea of being a mayor,” says Charles. It is also a smart move by Zagat from a content strategy perspective, as Zagat can rely on these power-users to promote these blog entries on the social web.
Currently these components are live in five cities—New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston and Chicago. Charles says Zagat is “targeting an urban social audience that is enthusiastic about dining out.” It is certainly getting great exposure amongt Foursquare’s leading edge users. When asked if he thought there are enough people using the service for this to gain reach, Charles noted that as Foursquare expands from a social game to a platform that offers real-world incentives for users (like discounts and specials), their reach will undoubtedly expand.
When asked if they will be integrating Foursquare into their mobile app, Zagat to Go, Charles says they are taking a wait-and-see approach. Indeed, that sort of reverse integration – perhaps letting users “check in on Foursquare” just as you can “send to Twitter” or “log in using Facebook Connect” – will be key in helping Foursquare grow its users base as well.
