I recently read an article about a Marc Jacobs pop-up shop opening next weekend for New York Fashion Week. The interesting thing about the Daisy Marc Jacobs Tweet Shop? According to the store’s press release, “no dollars will change hands”. Instead of paying for goods with cash, customers will use “social currency” – a tweet, Instagram post, or Facebook post that includes the hashtag #MJDaisyChain.
In a world where social media has taken over, it only seems fitting that it has finally found its way into our monetary system as well. And really, it’s a win-win situation for both companies and consumers. Customers are able to receive goods for posting tweets and pictures that cost them nothing, and companies receive an instant burst of marketing across several different social media platforms. Of course it wouldn’t make any sense for stores to use this social currency exclusively, but I think it works perfectly in the Marc Jacobs setting – as a temporary pop-up shop geared towards the release of a new product. Without having to do much work, companies are able to accomplish a large scale marketing campaign while also providing customers with a very attractive reward. This type of consumer/brand experience will work to endear the customers to the brand which may keep them coming back.
Another bonus? We all know that during this past holiday season, store traffic dropped almost 15% due to customers window shopping and then heading online to compare prices. But, with this new incentive to come into stores and pick up merchandise for a mere social media post, where else but the store would customers be able to find such a great deal?
So what do you think? Will this new social currency catch on?
