SCVNGR: If you've got time & want to have some fun, there's an app for that

A friend of mine in my master's program recently co-created a "trek" on SCVNGR called "Hearsay & History at MSU", and I promised her I'd try it out on my lunch hour. Like a dutiful friend, I downloaded it onto my Android phone and off I went. At each of nine MSU campus locations, I could stop and take a featured "challenge" and earn points. After taking a few of the challenges, I could see the potential of this location-based application for certain types of companies and organizations.

Users of SCVNGR can check in at locations they're near and earn badges much like other location-based services such as Foursquare, which can allow companies to reward users for being loyal customers or even allow organizations to offer membership discounts for places people are near. Take, for instance, the MSU Alumni Association. Individuals pay an annual fee, and as a small part of their membership they receive various discounts. If an MSUAA member was walking by a store that partners with the MSUAA, that member could get a quick message saying, "With your MSUAA membership you can get 10% off your coffee at this Biggby location!" There are many interesting opportunities for location-based services for couponing and loyalty marketing efforts.

In general, I think location-based services could prove to be a useful tool for companies that have an established brand base. I say that because there's a real opportunity to teach users more about a product or feature of your organization, but I think the interest has to be well established so people will be inclined to check in. Specific to SCVNGR is the "trek" feature, which feels like a game to the user, but could be used to help customers feel even more connected to a brand, and points earns during a trek could be rewarded with discounts or other incentives. I think companies and organizations are just scratching the surface of what location-based services can do.