Interactive Loyalty
Back in 2018 I took part in a Hackathon which gave us 24 hours to build, market and pitch a product. My idea was to create Pokemon Go, but for real-world products & rewards. A treasure hunt that rewards people for going to a location. The idea never truly left my mind and as I began to help build more loyalty engines for Clients (Visa, Stash, The Mall Group, Spin Pay) the model became clearer.
So... I built it!
Overview:
Zoot is an application that delivers hyper-local "Digital Assets" that are collected using Augmented Reality. Below I describe in detail my ideation of the idea and the full end to end business plan to see if this is viable business
What's the problem?
Part of the challenge is the ability for firms to 'accurately' measure ROAS (Return of Advertising Spend). Firms spend millions on brand awareness with no clear measure of whether 'that' spend attracted 'those' customers. Furthermore, on average only 4% of vouchers issued are ever user. Lastly, according to Google 'near me' search data the past 5 years, people are looking for convenience - for items/experiences/offers near them.
What's the solution?
We wanted to display rewards on a map, making it easy to find, easy to get to, convenient to use. But we also wanted to create a more immersive experience and offer the Brand/Vendor a unique way to offer a bespoke experience... enter Augmented Reality!
Imagine walking into Starbucks before Christmas, you open Zoot and its snowing in store... there's also a nice warm coffee voucher there for you to collect!
My approach:
Step 1: Business Model - Can it make money?
Step 2: Design App & Back-office UX & UI - Is it functionally & technically feasible?
Step 3: Design incentive mechanism & gamification model - Will people reuse it?
Step 4: Build Alpha version for User testing
Step 5: Enhance Alpha & get 2-3 clients & measure
Step 1: Business Model - Can it make money?
Interactive Loyalty Business Model Canvas
Interactive Loyalty Revenue Model
Step 2: Design App & Back-office UX & UI - Is it functionally & technically feasible?
Interactive Loyalty UI (Figma Designs)
Step 3: Design incentive mechanism & gamification model - Will people reuse it?
Reward Engine & Gamifaction Model
Step 4: Build Alpha version for User testing
Step 5: Enhance Alpha & get 2-3 clients & measure
Google Data Studio Export of User Engagement & Competition Results
Mixpanel Engagement Results after it was integrated
Conclusion
The application demonstrated traction with users and had a viable investable business model, however the forecasted failure was in the reward supply and quality ie: Inventory. We needed a reliable inventory of higher value items when most providers across Asia offered discount coupons and small items when we were looking for more enticing items. And relevant to this, we needed high volumes of Zoots collected to ensure a stable business, whilst this application was likely more ‘cyclical’.
A fun business but not a game changer.
