Deck for a webinar I gave to the MSLGROUP North American network on location-based services and augmented reality on December 14, 2010. Part of the "Digital Shark Webinar Series."

1. LOST AT SEA?
Location-based services to the rescue!
December 14, 2010
Stacy Lukasavitz
Digital Communications Analyst/Strategist
MSL Ann Arbor
©2010
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2. Agenda
§ Location-Based Services
§ What are they
§ Value for users
§ Demographics
§ Big fish - overview & examples
§ Smaller (but growing) fish & overview
§ Coming tides
§ Augmented Reality
§ What it is
§ Early examples
§ AR browsers
§ What AR means for PR
§ Takeaways
§ Q&A
©2010

3. WHAT ARE LOCATION-BASED SERVICES?
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4. Location-based (or “geolocation” or “geosocial”)
services
§ Use internet-connected mobile devices’
geolocation (GPS) capabilities to let users notify
others in real-time of their locations by “checking
in” to that location
§ Usually run on stand-alone apps or accessible
through mobile web browsers
§ Offer various features and capabilities depending
on the service
©2010

5. A few of the fish in the sea…
©2010

6. WHAT IS THE VALUE OF LOCATION-BASED
SERVICES?
(a.k.a. Why does anyone care?)
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7. What is the value for users?
§ Some have gaming aspect, can unlock “badges” or
become “Mayor” if they check into somewhere the
most (read: bragging rights)
§ Ability to discover useful tips left by other users
§ (“Try the pulled pork!” or “After 3:00 pm all bakery items are half off!”)
§ Some use them to meet up with people nearby
§ (“Bob just checked in at Tom’s Diner, stop in and say hi!”)
§ … and of course, INCENTIVES in the form of discounts,
coupons, etc.
Brands are becoming more and more creative every day as to
what kind of value they can offer with LBS strategies.
©2010

8. Value controversy
“I have no interest in enlisting in a
virtual scavenger hunt, or unlocking
merit badges — what is this, the Cub
Scouts? — or becoming the narcissistic
“Mayor” of my local coffee shop. Thanks
for the offer, but I’m afraid I already
have some semblance of a life.”
“I’ve heard LBS executives state
that they think LBS is currently
where Facebook was 3 years ago
and I’m inclined to agree. . . It’s
time to stop assuming that since
you heard about Foursquare back
in 2009 that it should be a widely
adopted and mature platform by
now. When we step outside of
our tech bubble we see that the
general public is just
discovering LBS.”
©2010

9. LBS on Gartner’s Hype Cycle
proliferation of
GPS enabled
smartphones
TechCrunch
©2010

10. HOW BIG IS THE LBS WAVE & WHO IS RIDING IT?
(a.k.a. Demographics)
©2010
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11. How big is the LBS wave?
§ Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life
project finds that 4% of online adults use a service
such as Foursquare or Gowalla that allows them
to share their location with friends and to find
others who are nearby.
§ On any given day, 1% of internet users are using
these services.
§ These findings coincide with a similar study done
by Forrester Research published in July 2010
(Pew Research Center, “4% of online Americans use location=based services.” November 4, 2010)
http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Location-based-services.aspx
©2010

12. … and who is riding it?
©2010

13. A drop in the ocean?
©2010

14. Who’s riding the LBS wave
§ 7% of adults who go online with their
mobile phone use a location-based
service.
§ 8% of online adults ages 18-29 use
location-based services, significantly more
than online adults in any other age group.
§ 10% of online Hispanics use these services
– significantly more than online whites (3%)
or online blacks (5%).
§ 6% of online men use a location-based
service such as Foursquare or Gowalla,
compared with 3% of online women.
(Pew Research Center, “4% of online Americans use location=based services.” November 4, 2010)
http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Location-based-services.aspx
©2010

15. Who’s riding the LBS wave
©2010

16. Who’s riding the LBS wave
©2010

17. User base is small, but influential (and growing)
©2010

18. LBS users make bigger waves
©2010

19. … and dive deeper into the research waters via
mobile.
©2010

20. A CLOSER LOOK AT THE BIG FISH
… and how they’ve been fried so far.
©2010
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21. The big fish
§ Foursquare
§ Gowalla
§ Facebook Places
§ Whrrl
§ Loopt
§ MyTown
©2010

22. Foursquare
§ Launched in 2009
§ 5+ million users (December 2010)
§ October 2010: Announced 200 millionth check-in (2.5 mos
after announcing its one millionth check-in)
§ Credited with creating the geolocation gaming aspect –
users unlock badges, compete for “mayorships” which may
entitle discounts
§ Major partnerships include Starbucks, History Channel, Bravo,
MTV, VH1
©2010

23. Example Partnership Badges
©2010

24. Successful Foursquare Promotions
§ Starbucks – First Nationwide
“Mayor” Special May-June 2010*
§ History Channel (April 2010) –
populated tips of historical
factoids at various venues across
the USA to coincide with its new
show “America – The Story of
Us” (think “pop-up video”)
§ Bravo TV (February 2010) – users
can earn special badges and prizes
when checking into 500+
locations chosen by Bravo that
correspond with shows including
“Top Chef,” “The Millionaire
Matchmaker,” & “The Real
Housewives”
*while considered a successful
promotion overall, not all stores were
“in the know,” including the
downtown Ann Arbor Starbucks
©2010

25. Not-So-Successful Promotion – McDonald’s
§ April 16 (4/16 “Foursquare Day”) McDonald’s tried a
promotion offering random $5 and $10 gift cards to
Foursquare users who checked in that day (total spent =
$1000)
§ McDonald’s CLAIMED a 33% increase in foot traffic because
of this promotion, the press went wild
§ REALITY: Measured wrong metric, analysis incorrect.
©2010

26. Not-So-Successful Promotion – McDonald’s
What happened?
§ McDonald’s measured check-ins, equated that to foot traffic.
Check-ins != foot traffic or sales.
§ McDonald’s have approx. 26 million customers per day. A 33%
increase = 7.8 Foursquare users. Foursquare only had about 3
million accounts (1 million active users) at the time.
§ So what increased 33%? Check-ins by people using
Foursquare, which equaled roughly 700 more check-ins than
their average of 2,000 check-ins per day.
§ LESSON: Know goals, know what to measure, and how to
interpret what you find. This was not part of a long-term
strategy, it was more or less a stunt.
©2010

27. McDonald’s Foursquare check-ins
©2010

28. Gowalla
§ Launched 2009
§ 500,000+ users (November 2010)
§ Passport theme – each place checked into, users
receive a “stamp”
§ Gowalla periodically offers customized stamps for
businesses at $100 each
§ Both businesses and users can leave messages for
people who check in
©2010

29. Gowalla
§ Key feature: Trips – lists of places to check into/
check out that users AND brands can create
(much like a guided tour)
§ November 2010 – Disney partnered with Gowalla
for extensive program consisting of custom
Disney Land and Disney World stamps, including
specific “Trips” where users can earn special pins
©2010

30. Pins are
equivalent of
Foursquare
badges – must
complete certain
milestones to
receive.
©2010

31. +
SXSW 2010 – Chevy and Gowalla
partnered up at SXSW 2010 in
Austin, TX to give users that
checked in when they arrived at
the airport, free Chevy car service
downtown to their hotels.
Why It Is Unique: Created an
immediate and surprise real
world service opportunity
©2010

32. Facebook Places
§ August 2010 Facebook debuts location-sharing feature
Places, people freak out about privacy again
§ No game mechanics, incentives for users
§ Businesses have option to claim their business, which is then
blended into their FB page
§ Facebook instantly has upper hand with 500+ million users
§ Nobody seems to care
©2010

33. Claimed FB Place combined with Page
©2010

34. Facebook Deals
§ November 2010 Facebook purportedly “changes the game”
by unveiling Facebook Deals program
§ Allows any business with a Facebook Page & claimed location
to offer deals to anyone who checks in on their iPhone*
§ FB partnered with “big” retail like Chipotle, H&M, and 24 Hour
Fitness to kickoff
§ 4 types of deals:
§ Individual Deals - for discounts, free stuff or other rewards
§ Friend Deals - where you and a pal claim something together
§ Loyalty Deals - for the regulars
§ Charity Deals - which allow you to donate to a cause
§
Suddenly, that 500+ million user base advantage? Yeah, it’s
a lot more relevant now.
*other mobile platforms to follow, as always
©2010

35. First “big” Facebook Deals promo flops
§ November 5, 2010: Gap says “first 10,000
customers” to check in at a Gap via Facebook
Places receives a free pair of jeans (up to $59.50
value) or 40% any one item.
§ RESULT: MASS CONFUSION.
©2010

36. First “big” Facebook Deals promo flops
§ Each participating store only had 10-20 pair of jeans to give
away
§ Many users didn’t know what Places was, or that they had to
check in on iPhone or Android and wrote “check in” on the
Gap’s FB Page
§ Store employees didn’t understand they needed to see the
check-in on a phone; many gave jeans away to whoever
mentioned the promo (some didn’t even know about the
promo)
©2010

37. (Not quite.)
“Really? Have you looked at the GAP
Facebook page to see everyone's feedback?
This thing looks like a huge flop. People are
super confused, nobody knows what Places
is or how to check in, and the "first 10,000"
wording is super-misleading when it's really
the first handful or so of customers at each
“I'm surprised to see the Gap/Facebook individual location. “
promo characterized as a success. All I've
heard is about how pissed off people are,
how the promotion was poorly conceived
and difficult to understand, etc. “OMG! Super pissed! I checked-in on Facebook. I
followed the instructions and what...they didn't have
Clue: When tons of people are hitting your any free jeans left! Gap just gave them away to the
Facebook page with either complaints or first 100 people that showed up! WTF is that?! My
check-in and e-mail confirmation rightfully says I
entries that read "check in," you're not should get a free pair as I was #27 to check in. Gap
looking at a successful situation.”
stores need to follow the rules! They owe me..and
everyone else that checked in. Horrible experience.”
©2010

38. Lesson Learned:
LBS & promotions therein
still have a long way to go
to hit mainstream.
©2010

39. Whrrl
§ Launched October 2007
§ 450,000+ members (November 2010)
§ Premise: To get people to try new
things
§ People join “Societies” that match
their interests; inspire others to try
new experiences through
recommendations/notes that capture
real-world experiences
§ Users can earn “influence points” as
they try new things, successfully
inspire others; leveling up in Societies
unlocks powers & Society Rewards
from merchant, brand partners
§ Unique feature: Ability to create
stories of your experiences with
photo, tweets, text (like a PP deck)
©2010

40. Whrrl
Example story created by user
©2010

41. Whrrl
Noteworthy: March 2010 Whrrl partnered with Experience Music
Project in Seattle to bring rock and roll history to 6 major cities
across USA. Check into certain venues unlocks societies, reveals
interesting stories, trivia about famous musicians who once
performed there.
Why this is unique: National content distribution by a non-profit/
museum; this was before History Channel’s Foursquare partnership
©2010

42. Big box stores Target, Wal-Mart, Best Buy bet on Whrrl this
holiday season with Holiday Deals Society
©2010

43. Underdogs
Dogfish shark
• iPhone-only app by Booyah, has over 2.8m users
• Monopoly-like game where users can “own” virtual venues they
check into, can collect rent, etc.
• Has social aspects like “friending,” etc.
• Major partnerships include Travel Channel’s Food Wars TV
show, clothier H&M
• One of earliest LBS pioneers, launched in 2005
• Far less coverage, but boasts 4+ million users, quietly becoming huge presence
• Notable: Partnered with Virgin America, users who checked into SFO, LAX
airports OR certain taco trucks in 4 hour window got 2-for-1 airfare to Cancun,
Virgin claims 5th highest revenue day ever, Loops claims 1,800 check-ins
©2010

44. SMALLER (BUT GROWING) FISH
©2010
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45. Different and on the rise
• Scavenger hunt
• Brands: Coca-Cola, Smithsonian, GameStop
• Example: Visitors to 10 malls this holiday season are
challenged to earn points toward rewards by accomplishing tasks
like taking a photo of a Coke as the mall. Rewards range from
coke bottle openers to gift cards redeemable on location.
• On-site sensors – built in hardware, not GPS
• Brands: Target, Best Buy, American Eagle
• Example: Enter a Best Buy location, your phone recognizes it and you
get points and a message that there are deals available at this location.
You can also use it to scan items and get more points and other
potential deals.
©2010

46. Different and on the rise
• Scans products
• Brands: Altoids, Pepsi, Ben & Jerry’s
• Example: People that pick up Altoids and scan its bar code with
Stickybits get a $10 iTunes gift card
• Check-ins, scans products
• Brands: Belkin, Energizer, Tyson Foods
• Example: Shoppers receive points just for checking in, also for
scanning bar codes. Can redeem points as currency for gift cards,
airline miles, gadgets, etc.
©2010

47. Geolocation = another opportunity for PR to
shine
§ Relationship building
§ Events
§ Thought leadership / knowledge resource
§ Image management
§ Promotions
§ Awareness building
§ … really, the possibilities are endless.
©2010

48. COMING TIDES FOR LBS
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49. Coming tides for Foursquare…
§ Loyalty card linking – recently Foursquare partnered with SoCal
supermarket chain Vons and PepsiCo
§ Foursquare users register via a special web page to link their Vons
card to their account
§ The card then “knows” all your previous 4sq activity & bases
coupons/rewards on your habits
§ E.g. If you’ve earned the “Gym Rat” badge, you may get a coupon
for a free Sobe drink; if you always check in somewhere early in the
morning, maybe Quaker Oatmeal
§ “Semantic geosocial promotion”
©2010

50. What’s next
§ Gowalla 3.0 – December 2010
§ iPhone* app creates unified check-in service, pulls in
check-ins from friends on other LBS networks, even if
they’re not on Gowalla
§ Synced up venues between their own place database,
Facebook’s place database, Foursquare’s place
database, and even Twitter’s place database -->
§ 1 Gowalla check-in = check-in on all services at once,
even allows earning Foursquare badges & tips,
Facebook Deals
§ WHY? CEO Josh Williams sees a “socially curated
guidebook” not focused on deals/coupons or game
mechanics, but on useful info & fun, unique
experiences
*Android, Blackberry, and iPad apps coming soon
©2010

51. AUGMENTED REALITY
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52. Augmented what?
§ Augmented reality (AR) is a term for a live direct
or indirect view of a physical real-world
environment whose elements are augmented by
virtual computer-generated sensory input such as
sound or graphics.
§ Augmentation is conventionally in real-time and
in semantic context with environmental elements
§ Information about the surrounding real world of
the user becomes interactive and digitally usable.
- Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augmented_reality
©2010

53. You’re already familiar with it!
©2010

54. Lego AR kiosks
§ Started January ‘09, by April 2010 Lego had AR
kiosks in ALL Lego stores
§ Idea: show parents and their kids what the
finished Lego construction they were considering
buying would look like before purchase.
§ Currently one of the most well-known uses of
AR, per my non-scientific polling
©2010

55. First AR iPhone app: Yelp (August 2009)
§ “Easter Egg” discovered by Robert Scoble
§ After Yelp app is downloaded, shake iPhone 3x, which activates
“Monocle”
§ Point camera, restaurant, hotel, etc. ratings & reviews are overlaid
onto screen
©2010

56. General Motors testing AR windshield
§ AR windshield would highlight hazards, road edges, landmarks, etc.
in dark or foggy conditions
§ Has 3 cameras to track the driver’s head and eyes to determine
where they’re looking, and an array of infrared and visible sensors to
identify objects outside the car, the edges of the road, vehicles in the
driver’s blind spot, or moving animals at the side of the road.
©2010

57. Wikitude World Browser
§ First AR browser for smartphones, published almost
simultaneously with first Android devices at end of 2008
§ Scans your surrounding for geo-referenced content using
the camera and the device’s sensors. The objects’ info is
displayed on screen where the real object is located.
§ Collects the closest places of all local content providers,
so you immediately know what’s happening around you
§ Each place (or POI, Point Of Interest) belongs to provider,
so called “Worlds”. Local Worlds are listed on start-up,
each one providing information of places around you.
(E.g. check “Wikipedia” to see all Wikipedia information
around you, or “pizza” to see all things related to pizza
around you)
©2010

58. Wikitude World Browser
©2010

59. Lonely Planet Compass Guides
§ Lonely Planet created 10 enhanced Wikitude “Compass Guides” to various
cities for Android market in US, including Boston, Chicago, Miami, New
York, Los Angeles, D.C., Seattle
§ Enabled with GPS so you can see your current location and plot
itineraries on dynamic maps;
§ Augmented reality camera-view to visualize data overlays of Lonely
Planet recommended points of interest
§ Hundreds of listings for places of interest – bars, clubs, restaurants and
more – search by category, distance, or by address
§ Helpful information on the city, its history and events and more
©2010

60. Layar
§ AR browser that takes idea of
Wikitude browser to next level
§ Raised $17.4m of funding in 2010
§ Users can set preferences, bookmarks,
and view various content (layers) per
the layer catalog
§ First AR browser brands are really
catching onto
§ Brands with Layers include 7-11
Stores (shows store locations),
ApartmentsForRent.com (find listings
for apartments), AllMenus.com,
CareerBuilder, various universities
(campus tours)… the possibilities are
many
©2010

61. Layer of local tweets
©2010

62. Example layers on cities
©2010

63. What AR means for PR
§ Though AR is still in its infancy, it provides both
opportunities and challenges for the PR field
§ Biggest opportunity (and challenge) = CONTENT
§ Beyond the shiny, AR is simply another means in which a
brand can share information
§ Our challenge as PR pros is the same as social media - to
give consumers information they find valuable, allow them
opportunity to share and interact with that info as they see
fit.
§ PR pros need to know where brand relationships are being
made, and need to ensure proper placement and consistency
of messaging.
§ The same questions apply:
§ Is the strategy consistent with the overall goal(s) of the brand?
§ How will consumers find this outlet valuable?
§ What need/problem does it solve?
©2010

64. Takeaways
§ Both LBS & AR are still nascent, but LBS are catching on faster
§ These new channels aren’t just for brick-and-mortar companies
§ Many big brands are experimenting with their feet in both
ponds
§ Brands who jump in the waters first are getting accolades for
even trying, seen as trailblazers
§ All, thus far, seem to be B2C
§ Though fragmented now, the user will eventually have a more
streamlined experience though the evolution of the
technologies (e.g. Gowalla)
§ Regardless of the technology, the fundamentals of our
strategies remain the same
©2010

65. Q&A
©2010
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66. STACY LUKASAVITZ
Digital & Social Communications Analyst/Strategist
MSL Ann Arbor
o: 734.214.1550 x127
e: stacy.lukasavitz@mslgroup.com
t: @damnredhead
©2010
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