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Digital Strategy

Pegmo: Why I love it

Chicago is home to a few startup giants (e.g. Groupon, 37signals), and fast growers (Tap.Me) One up-and-comer is Pegmo, is a simple social media-based loyalty program for brands that may not have one; co-founder Wes Donohoe refers to as “a big game that isn’t built.”

There are a few reasons I like Pegmo:

Pegmo rewards consumer behavior that already exists. When I created and led the KmartGamer project over at Sears Holdings, our end goal was to find a way to reward gamers for being gamers. Once a user signs up for Pegmo, they start earning rewards for things they already do: follow a brand or retailer on Twitter or Facebook or check into a store on Foursquare.

Pegmo unifies brand-related social engagement on one platform. Users may follow brands and retailers on Twitter and Facebook, and check in frequently on Foursquare, but no other platform (that I’ve seen) makes it this easy for businesses to form a multi-layer relationship (unless there’s a savvy marketer driving the channel and content strategy, that is).

For brands and retailers, Pegmo generates not just numbers, but actions. If users don’t already follow the brands or retailers that are listed on the site, Pegmo prompts them to do so for additional points, or “Pegs.” In addition, Pegmo prompts users to share their thoughts about the brands themselves. For instance, a restaurant could ask users to share their thoughts on the dishes or drinks they like at the restaurant, whether it’s directly to the brand, or posted on their Facebook wall. As a result — and depending on the feedback itself — Pegmo has the potential to be an interesting research tool.

Pegmo can always evolve through new tasks. As businesses evolve, their goals and products do as well. (For instance, restaurants always change their menus, and retailers expand or offer new products.) This gives Pegmo a seemingly endless way to evolve, which is very different from, say, Foursquare, which relies on one basic action — the check-in — as the basis of its value prop.

Have you signed up for Pegmo yet? If so, what do you think of it? Please leave your thoughts as comments below!