Check in on Foursquare and Save an Endangered Species

Here at S2EO, we talk about Foursquare a lot. One of our favorite geo-location services, Foursquare enables users to check in to various locations in their city via their smart phone. For most users, Foursquare is simply a game—you can see where your friends are hanging out and find deals and discounts in your area—however, the service holds a number of perks for businesses, too, connecting them with hundreds of potential customers in their local market.

Well, one organization is taking the marketing capabilities of Foursquare to a whole new level. Earthjustice, a nonprofit environmental law firm, is now using Foursquare to leverage their other advertising efforts. New ads appearing in San Francisco’s transit stations read: “What does it take to help save the endangered pika? About 20 seconds. Check in now at Foursquare at ‘Earthjustice ad.’ Every time you check in, an Earthjustice donor will donate $10 to protect endangered species.” 

While Earthjustice seems to be the first organization urging users to check in using a physical billboard, the strategy is likely to capture the attention of other advertisers. By linking ads with a geo-location service like Foursquare, businesses can see which ads are getting the most responses and engaging their audience.

Ray Wan, the marketing manager of Earthjustice says of the campaign, “A lot of the time people are standing around BART checking their phones as they wait for their train, so it was a no-brainer to use Foursquare as way to get them to engage with the ads and support our work.” In fact, Earthjustice’s donors were quick to jump on board, too. One donor agreed to pay $50,000 towards the new campaign.

What do you think of the strategy? Would you consider a similar strategy for your business? Let us know below.