Shelter Scotland shops trial Foursquare campaign

21 Jul 2011 News

Shelter Scotland has launched a new campaign through Foursquare which rewards visitors who check in at its Edinburgh shops.

Shelter Scotland has launched a new campaign through Foursquare which rewards visitors who check in at its eight Edinburgh shops.

The charity is the first in the UK to use the location-based social network as a tool to attract visitors to charity shops.

Smartphone users who check in will be able to get three donated items for the price of two on their first visit and the same offer on every sixth visit.

Visitors will also be able to collect eight limited-edition badges designed by Stina Jones, one at each of the eight shops. The first ten people to collect all eight badges will get an original print by the designer.

Gordon MacRae, head of communications and policy at Shelter Scotland, said: “Social networking has become part of everyday life and Shelter Scotland is proud to move with the times – becoming the first charity to engage digitally with supporters through Foursquare.”

Foursquare users will also be able to make lists, write reviews and share photographs. 

On Foursquare, the user who checks into a place the most becomes the mayor of that location. Users can also sync their Foursquare updates with Facebook and Twitter to share updates with their friends on these other networks.

The charity hopes to extend the campaign to all Shelter shops in Scotland by the end of the year, and to the rest of the UK in 2012.

In April, Marks and Spencer donated £1 to Breakthrough Breast Cancer for each of the first 25,000 customers who checked in at one of their stores on Foursquare during the London Marathon weekend. Customers who checked in were also rewarded with a £5 voucher.