Fa
ns of the mobile check-in service, Foursquare, will soon have a new way to show off their digital/mobile participation with good old-fashioned (nerd merit) badges, (via Mashable).
As someone who is constantly on the look-out for interesting integrations of the offline and online, I found this to be a great case-study to follow as the possible implementation goes into effect. The patches are still pending approval from Foursquare, however, if they do decide to move forward with the integration, I’d hope that they take it a step further by making the badges digitally-enabled, and linking these codes to unique giveaways and privileges within the Foursquare community.
Adding a unique code to each badge will accomplish a number of brand-building goals above and beyond the base-level integration of the physical badge only.
First, unique codes will drive people back to web, equating to and increase in web traffic.
Second, unique codes will provide a level of excitement and a higher level of emotional connection to Foursquare. Just like KidRobot blind boxes and baseball card packs encourage people to keep coming back for more (never knowing what they will find in the next box/pack), unique codes on badges will encourage foursquare users to drive even harder to earn more badges, to find out what the next code will win them. In turn, leading to more web traffic, more use and more brand buzz.
How else could Foursquare take this offline/online integration to the next level? Let us know what you think.
