via Lost Remote and Cory Bergman
Gift cards, mobile coupons and other virtual currency are a new twist on an old problem: how to scale interactive TV with tangible incentives for users to interact with advertisers. These loyalty programs along with “tag this commercial” efforts (like Shazam and IntoNow) are one of the hottest growth areas in social TV today. For the first time, we’re beginning to see the promise of interactive TV in small bursts with big potential. If advertisers can generate leads through the second screen at scale — and capture a wealth of data — the sky’s the limit for new revenue generation.
I just don’t get it. The proliferation of these “Cracker Jack prizes” and novelty parlor tricks cannot sustain revenues in the long term. When everybody gets their first free cup of coffee, envelope full of stickers or Gap coupon, the novelty will wear off and users will go back to watching TV for the same reason they have for 60+ years. Social currency.