Is Foursquare Product Placement for Everyday Life?
With Facebook well integrated into many people’s lives, and even Twitter to a lesser extent; new media (or simply media) continues to expand into new areas and to new depths of our daily lives. We’ve come accustomed to vignettes of our acquaintance’s activities and with new tools like Foursquare broadcasting our “check-ins” brands are seeing this sharing as an opportunity. The practice of sharing one’s location is referred to as Social Location Networking (SoLo) and is quickly becoming the next rage—and next branding opportunity—in media.
This new rage of sharing one’s location by checking into venues such as restaurants, bars, hotels, and even grocery stores is broadcasted further into Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or any other media platform. Friends keep connected and get connected for evenings out. Co-workers share lunch suggestions or bagel choices. But more importantly, these venues can pass along specials, tips or other incentives/rewards for those who participate. Experiences are shared and broadcasted as endorsements to friends or virtual acquaintances.
Broadcasting one’s location along with commentary ranging from “cute bartender” to “never order the seafood ravioli” carries with it a type of endorsement. Sharing your location is simply advertising the location’s brand. Your presence gives an opportunity for the brand to interact with the members of your interest community. Like the venue or hate it, you’ve just performed a vital advertising task—you’ve shared.
The threshold of sharing versus oversharing is very subjective to the individual. Each person must choose to check in and share. Every digital acquaintance chooses to interact with the individual and in essence is in the same position as someone who watches a television show live and sit through commercials. While some choose to watch the television show over the Internet and some watch it on the DVR only to fast forward the commercials, smart brands have re-embraced the age old practice of product placement.
Product placement, such as the AT&T phone or the Starbucks Coffee or even the Ford truck the main character tools around in are all subtle forms of advertising—carrying a subliminal brand message. The phone always gets a signal. The coffee is always right. The truck always gets through the rough stuff. Bottom line, every product placement brings the audience a message. Now we look at our lives enhanced with social media and then social location networking.
Looking at our lives as we check-in, share our impressions or even our critiques; we are, in essence, doing product placement for every brand we interact with. For example, we have Restaurant A delivering a great pasta dish to our first date couple, each are relatively savvy in media. Both checked-in as they entered separately, likely commenting on nerves. Both update Facebook or tweet from the restroom to let their friends know how the date is going and how the food is or how the waiter gave a quiet wine recommendation that rocked. All seems rather innocent, but it all plays for the restaurant’s brand.
How did this date play in the restaurant’s brand favor? Flip roles. Two similar people with somewhat overlapping social communities and spending habits broadcasted their intention to dine. Both gave subtle, but ringing endorsements to the food, the service and the atmosphere. In more fashions than a brand could dream these two tell a great story on why someone should go on a date at Restaurant A. Simply put, these two have just done a great restaurant product placement into their social media lives.
When examining your own business or personal brand, how does social location networking fit into product placement? What does your check-ins say about you (regardless of you checking in places or who is checking into your place)? How can you capitalize on it and make the most of this newest rage? Be aware of your brand in this new realm and never forget to engage here, too.