"Checking In" On Location-Based Marketing

So wouldn't it be cool if you could walk by a Starbucks and get a mobile coupon?  Haha, just kidding.  If you've been in the mobile space for a while, you know that has been the promise of location-based applications for nearly a decade.  While mobile coupons are starting to appear, they aren't quite making the splash that has been promised since data started being delivered to the phone.  But leave it to social networking to get things cranking around location-based services that are actually compelling, consumer friendly, and have real potential to be a serious marketing tool for businesses.  

With social networking becoming mainstream over the last few years, location-based services are gathering the most traction through social networking tools like Foursquare, Gowalla, and MyTown.  My early experiences with these services provide a sneak peek into how they have the potential to transform the loyalty program landscape.  Before, other than standard reward cards almost every establishment offers, McDonald's Monopoly game was one of the more inventive and fun loyalty programs.  But with restaurants beginning to offer discounts, no wait times, and even free vacations (Moby Dick's in the DC area had this running recently) for their Foursquare "Mayor", people are again incented to visit establishments to gather badges and mayorships to show off to their friends.  I must say I myself have been caught up in this when I see an establishment offering up freebies to frequent, um, checker-inners.