Locomotion Promotion: Virgin/Loopt Give Away Free Air Tickets for Check-ins
In what may be the largest, or most expensive give-away garnered through a geo-location tool, airlin Virgin America gave away two-for-one plane tickets to Mexico today. and geo-location start-up Loopt. Per Silicon Alley Insider:
Anyone who checks in to select locations in Los Angeles and San Francisco using Loopt Star — Loopt’s deals app — will receive a voucher for two tickets for the price of one to Los Cabos or Cancun from either LA or San Francisco. Virgin is just now opening up service to Mexico, and is using the Loopt promotion to draw attention to the new routes.
Let’s think about the implications of such a large giveaway. Clearly, Virgin sees location-based promotions as a fertile territory for getting the word out about its new services. But we question if location is ‘there’ yet – meaning – will people download and use Loopt solely for the opportunity to get a great travel deal? If so, what does that say about this technology as a media channel – and is such behavior any different from forcing oneself to watch a commercial in order to learn more about an advertised product?
If users are signing up for Loopt just to get the tickets, we have to ask who this campaign is really benefitting.
