Got time to spare before your Virgin America flight? Waiting just got a little more fun if you’re at San Francisco’s brand new Terminal 2, where Virgin America is randomly awarding prizes for check ins on Foursquare and Facebook Places. The campaign began yesterday with the opening of Terminal 2, which features organic dining and work tables with outlets and wi-fi, as reported by Mashable.
How it works:
- Foursquare and Facebook checkins are combined to award one of 5 badges, ranging from “ground crew” (1-4 checkins) up to “captain” (50+ checkins)
- Passengers are then randomly awarded prizes (ex. T-shirts and flight vouchers) based on their checkins
- Consumers have to agree to Facebook’s Terms of Service on the T2 Takeover app on Virgin America’s Facebook Page in order to participate
- Consumers will then find various surprises at the terminal checkin areas (video games and artwork)
ClickZ quotes Jill Fletcher, Virgin America’s social media manager, “”We’ve left all kinds of little ‘Easter eggs’ throughout Terminal 2, and we want our customers to discover them when they check in.”
While Virgin American may eventually combine the T2 takeover with it’s frequent flyer program, “Elevate,” for now the airline is testing the campaign to see what results it will yield. The airline already partners with TopGuest, a travel loyalty program that allows “Elevate” members to earn rewards for checking in via Foursquare, Facebook Places, Gowalla or Twitter.
Last year marked Virgin America’s first foray into gelocation, with a successful two-for-one, airfare-to-Mexico offer via Loopt. Labeled “Tickets & Tacos,” it yielded the 5th best revenue day since the airline was founded 3 years ago.
Overall, Virgin America saw 12,000 check ins across geolocation platforms last year, according to ClickZ.
