Using geo-location technology to incentivise positive behaviour change.

THE BRIEF

The American Red Cross supplies approximately 40% of the donated blood used in hospitals in the United States, regularly using innovative ways to help support existing blood donors and encourage new ones.

In 2013, at the height of Foursquare’s rise to dominance in the leveraging of geo-location technology and the social interaction of the ‘check in’, we brought the two organisations together around a shared concept of incentivised behaviour change.

The Outcome

We isolated the potential of leveraging the check in and badge mechanics of Foursquare to incentivise social action linked to geographic locations.

Working alongside the Foursquare team we created the concept of providing blood donors with a digital reward directly linked to the time and geographic location of blood donation. Following UX research and business analysis with both Foursquare and the Red Cross, we created the UX and content strategy for the new American Red Cross badge that worked within the existing format and taxonomies of Foursquare's in-app mechanics and the blood donation process of individual donors across the United States.

The badge was subsequently launched in partnership with the American Red Cross, enabling donors to check in whilst attending blood drives anywhere in North America to activate and receive their 'American Red Cross badge'. The partnership was Foursquare's first impact partnership with a charitable body and marked the first global instance of geolocation social media being utilised for social good.

Strategically, existing American Red Cross blood donors were introduced to Foursquare providing another means of thanking them for their generosity, and in parallel Foursquare users were introduced to blood donation and encouraged to donate through the gamification of badge collection.

CLIENT

Planning the digital transformation of a Charity 100 Index organisation.