The online radio site Pandora, Oakland, Calif., is running hyperlocal, geo-targeted ads on its mobile app, and Best Buy has signed on to reach iPhone users. When you sign up for Pandora, you register your zip code, email, birth year and gender.
Shopkick, Palo Alto, Calif., has teamed with Visa for a "Buy & Collect" program. Visa cardholders register their cards with Shopkick, and when they collect "Kicks" they collect Visa rewards.
A co-founder of Zappos has launched a new social site called RNKD (pronounced ranked), Burlingame, Calif. The idea is to be rewarded for what's in your closet.
Staples revamped its iPhone app with new services (Android on the way, but it wasn't available when I checked in late December): Users can now scan bar codes to build a shopping list (no more typing in product names); find the nearest store and check for a product's availability; use the app to red
CheckPoints, Venice, Calif., has announced a new brand partner and some serious new capabilities. The Coca-Cola Co. is the latest to sign on with the mobile app, which drives shoppers down store aisles to scan products and earn points.
Powered by San Francisco-based 5th Finger, Safeway Inc. is granting Dominick's shoppers personalized offers on their iPhone. Synced with the user's loyalty card, the mobile app delivers weekly ads, activates coupons and creates shopping lists. It creates paperless shopping – no lists, no coupons.
The latest FSI event from L’Oreal Paris included an ad featuring singer Gwen Stefani that again employed a QR code linking to a promotional video. The ad also plugged the manufacturer’s “Can I Help You” online consultation service.
Massimo Zanetti Beverage’s Kauai Coffee introduced new packaging with a QR code linking to a mobile website sporting the brand’s new “bold” blue color. This ad reran on April 15 and Aug. 26.
