Earlier today, MTV announced that they will ‘reward’ people for having STD check-ups if they show they have done so on Foursquare. For those that hate jargon, this basically means that if you are signed up to the social network Foursquare, which tells other Foursquare users where you are through the GPS location of your smartphone, MTV will see that you have physically entered an STD clinic and congratulate you for doing so. The reward is a Foursquare badge, which is basically the digital equivalent of saying “I woz ‘ere”. The badge shows other users where you have been, and a desirable way to show you’re an active member of the community. While other brands besides MTV have been rewarding Foursquare users, this is the first highly promoted use of the social network for healthcare that we’re aware of. There are surely therefore other applications of the network worth giving some more thought in terms of healthcare…
The obvious one is to promote a cause to a community in the same way this MTV initiative aims to do. So if you wanted to tell people you had visited a great event related to healthcare, a Foursquare campaign could reward you for doing so. Pizza restaurants give you money off your next meal if you make it known that you have eaten at one of their restaurants on Foursquare. So in the same way, visiting a stand at an event such as the Vitality Show could trigger a reward of some kind, whether material or otherwise.
There are lots of obvious pitfalls with healthcare communications and privacy issues abound, but when it comes to developments affecting healthcare online, Foursquare is definitely one to watch. If every campaign and brand is only just now jumping on board Twitter and Facebook, Foursquare could very easily become the next ‘me too’. That is, if it isn’t happening already…?
Tags: digital pharma, Foursquare, geo-location, pharma online
Hey Ed – Love it. The incentive to win MTV goodies is a great one. It really shows that MTV cares about the sexual health of their (more male biased) audience and is a great awareness raiser and value add to drive traffic to the wealth of information they have on their dedicated sexual health site.
The privacy issue is fine here as in normal Foursquare methodology you have to ‘Check In’ and let them know (rather than your clever phone letting everyone know as you walk through the door). Foursquare users in the US can make a discreet visit.