Social Currency marketing combines brand loyalty and social networking to create brand awareness and buzz
Marketing messages constantly bombard consumers. To cut through the noise, many companies now provide merchandise or discounts in return for consumers’ social sharing and promotion to friends. Consumers who are passionate about certain products, brands, or experiences share with their networks – and then receive financial incentives in return for promoting the company.
Let’s look at some examples:
Marc Jacobs
Marc Jacobs opened up a pop-up shop in the middle of Manhattan for its perfume brand Daisy. But you can’t buy a thing. Customers pay through the tweets they send out and/or share. The more they tweet, the more free products they receive. Marc Jacobs’ Daisy goes beyond advertising by engaging prospective customers through existing “brand ambassadors.”
Hertz
Hertz’s ShareItUp campaign provided the opportunity for consumers to share a promotional offer with friends in way that provided exponential benefits. The more they shared, the higher the discount became – for everyone. Hertz promoted its brand and car rental services by involving consumers directly in its campaign. As participants in creating the promotion itself, consumers gained a sense of community while obtaining discounts in the process.
The consumer segments that drive the Instrpreneurship trend are Meaning Makers, Expressive Creatives and Value Chasers. Check out my introductory blog post for their definitions. Next week we’ll look at the concept of Rent-A-Anything, the next consumer marketing megatrend.