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Earthjustice Ad's Foursquare Check-ins Raise Money for the Environment

by Terrence O'Brien on October 20, 2010 at 03:20 PM

Earthjustice Foursquare Ad
Generally when you "check in" with social services like Foursquare, it's to announce your arrival at a bar to your friends (and, inadvertently, that your home is vulnerable to thieves). But the environmental group Earthjustice sees the social-gaming engine as a tool with potential for more than simply sharing where to get the best bagel with a schmear. The nonprofit has plastered transit stations around San Francisco with ads that read, "What does it take to help save the endangered pika? About 20 seconds." This is followed by instructions to check in at "Earthjustice ad," and that, for every check-in, a donor will give $10 to save an endangered species.

This is just one of three ads by Earthjustice that blur the lines between advertising, social networking and location-based services. The location data provides valuable insight for advertisers; and having supporters repost their message to sites like Facebook, Foursquare and Twitter extends the reach of their campaigns. The Earthjustice campaign is unique, though, in that it offers people a way to support a cause without sacrificing time or their own money. In the environmentally friendly city of San Francisco, it may not be hard to get people to check in if it leads directly to a charitable contribution. But it may prove difficult for for-profit companies to match the 5,700 posts generated by this campaign. Would you check in at a Coke ad because you like soda? We wouldn't.

Tags: ads, advertising, Billboard, Earthjustice, FourSquare, Location, location-based, SocialNetworking, top, web

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