Article
Giiv to offer mobile gifting service
The application combines online gift giving with mobile technology to offer a unique opportunity for QSRs and retailers.
November 19, 2009
Startup company Giiv Inc. is hoping to harness the popularity of online gift giving and texting with a new service: a Web 2.0 mobile gifting platform. The service combines online ordering with mobile couponing by allowing consumers to send designated gifts to others on the recipient's mobile phone.
Still in the beta phase, Giiv allows customers to select and pay for a gift online. A text message then delivers to the recipient a short greeting and a unique code for the specific item, which can be redeemed at partner retailers and restaurants.
For partner retailers and restaurants, the service offers an opportunity to turn gift givers into brand ambassadors.
"It's a way to get the current fans of a brand to evangelize their products and their favorite places to their friends," said Michelle Crames, Giiv CEO and co-founder.
Giiv is operating under the assumption that the recipient will be more likely to readily redeem the item because they've received the gift on their mobile phone. In so doing, they may buy other items. And it may be a chance for new customers to try new products. "So they're driving new people back into the store to spend more money," she said.
But Giiv is more than just a means of mobile advertising. The company brands itself as a social gifting platform and is developing applications for Facebook, Twitter and the iPhone. Allowing gifting on sites that already encourage interaction and personal messages made sense.
"(Thanks to the popularity of social media), we know when someone's having birthday, we know when someone's having a great day, we know when someone's having a bad day," Crames said. "So there are lots more opportunities for people to send each other these (gifts)."
Combining the gifting service with social media opens up even more possibilities for a QSR fan to further the brand. The Facebook application, for example, allows givers the opportunity to post a notice about their gift giving. One recent Facebook posting of a sent gift generated nearly 3,000 impressions, Crames said.
QSRs also can use the gifting platform as a way to monetize their growing brand presence on social media sites by rewarding fans with specific gifts. Brands also could use the service in conjunction with customer loyalty programs, to promote seasonal items or to send gifts to members of their birthday club.
During the beta phase, Giiv only offers Fandango movie tickets through its gifting service but is developing partnerships with several QSR brands. The company will announce the launch of each brand's gift service individually and plans to be fully operational by Valentine's Day.
Giiv, which has received funding from Eric Schmidt, chairman and CEO of Google Inc., through Tomorrow Ventures, was recently named the winner of the Fortune Brainstorm: Tech 2009 Startup Idol Competition.
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