Foursquare has been announcing partnerships left and right with big-name media brands and sponsors to integrate its geo app into unique and engaging solutions for consumers and and brands alike, and it looks like Gowalla is now following suit.
The LBS network just announced a new partnership with CNNMoney for Money Magazine’s annual “Best Places To Live
” list, whereby the top towns on the list have their own Gowalla hot spots, which are linked to from each city profile. If a user is within 25 miles of a city on the list, a notification is sent to their Gowalla app directing them to the “Best Places” page. A user can then visit the “hot spots” of that particular city to gain a unique stamp for their Gowalla passport.
While this partnership doesn’t necessarily provide in-depth value to users, it goes a long way in getting Gowalla and the Best Places to Live list a lot more exposure, and drives engagement of the Gowalla app itself. It seems the company is testing the waters, and will soon launch similar partnerships that begin to add value for its users and go much more in-depth in terms of integration with other brands/media properties and promotional value.
These kinds of so-called “mashups” are proving popular with brands of all shapes and sizes. For example, CNNMoney is also incorporating housing data from Trulia on the Best Cities part of the site, as well as job listings from SimplyHired. This drives increased engagement to the whole ecosystem and works on the collective strengths of all companies involved. I predict we’ll be seeing much more of this concept in the near future, with LBS startups like Gowalla and Foursquare leading the pack.
