What is an Easter Egg?
An “Easter Egg” is a hidden video game feature, unlocked when the user performs certain tasks. We use the same idea, “unlocking” users discounts based on time, the user’s location, and their personal profile. While the basic offering provides marketers with time and location based marketing opportunities, the infrastructure provides opportunity for more sophisticated user engagement. Consider a version of Pokémon GO but instead of monsters, the consumer (with a particular target profile) collects brand generated characters, in a specific location, by scanning real world QR codes for prizes. All while never needing to share their personally identifiable information.
There are plenty of coupon/loyalty programs available to customers is all geographies. OwnYou innovates with privacy preserving features. Brands have an opportunity to connect with individual pseudonymously, without having to collect personal data but relying instead on high quality demographic and target audience profiles. Individuals have an opportunity to benefit from discounts and coupons without laborious sign-up or subscription requirements.
Location specific, without sharing location
Easter Eggs act like coupons that only unlock when a user is in a specific location (a region, a town or even a street) and their pseudonymous personal data matches certain criteria. For instance, a chain of supermarkets might launch a coupon for a new range of own-branded goods. Coupons only materialize in user wallets when the location, the target audience profile and target demographics match the advertisers’ requirements.
Revealing location is sensitive information most individuals do not like to share. No one wants to be tracked. With OwnYou, coupons are deposited in the user’s wallet (after opt-in) and only unlock when GPS co-ordinates match set criteria. The advertiser is not notified unless the individual activates the offer, and then only a pseudonymous profile is shared.
Marketers targeting their optimal audience
Marketers can set minimum personal data requirements, for easter egg activation, as well as specific verified demographic parameters. For instance, user’s that verify their income could qualify for different types of easter eggs. In extremis, if Maggie verifies her income is more than $500,000 a year, she might receive and easter egg from her local Porsche dealership, enticing her to come in for weekend test drive. Michael might verify for a lower income bracket, but his local grocery store has a deal on fresh produce, and he might receive an easter egg with a related coupon.
OwnYou’s innovation is an app driven, privacy preserving, targeted coupon platform where coupons are only “unlocked” on-device when specific parameters match advertiser requirements. Parameters can be combinations of location, demographics, or target audience profiles. Advertisers broadcast the coupons and subscribing apps monitor and unlock coupons according to suitability. Advertisers only receive pseudonymous information in return for the easter eggs. However, users can opt-in for attribution.
Easter-Egg attribution can be paired with advertising campaign attribution
Attribution allows advertisers to link online advertising campaigns with off-line easter eggs. For instance, an easter egg might offer a reward/discount related to a product, in a specific location. By redeeming that offer, the individual also shares their online attribution chain. That allows the advertiser to develop a marketing funnel with online and offline touchpoints, and by compensating the individual for attribution, the advertiser can develop more targeted online/offline campaigns.
