This post was found here on Hinda Incentives' blog. I wrote the piece and found it relevant to my site as well. Thanks to @jeffhilmire for pointing this new service out to me. We've discussed before on here how Foursquare would be an ideal fit for loyalty programs.  In doing some Twitter research this week, a new location-based service called WeReward came up to surface. Currently, Foursquare is losing some of the steam it once had due to its rapid growth. With the increasing number of people joining the service, fun activities like trying to gain mayorship of a location have become significantly harder and users are running out of reasons to engage in Foursquare.

WeReward uses location-based marketing except with a twist. It requires more interaction with the user than a simple "check-in." Like Foursquare, users have the ability to gain points based on their check-ins. However, there is more to earning the reward than just a simple "check-in" with WeReward. The service not only asks for a check-in but also requires some sort of activity to go along with that check-in. For example, if you check into a Starbucks, you are required to not only check in but take a picture of yourself drinking a Starbucks branded beverage. Other lesser known places require a photo of the building to prove that you were indeed at the location as a customer, weeding out the location-based social network "cheaters."

Why go through all this trouble? WeReward is not only a location-based service but a rewards service as well. For checking into different places or completing different tasks, WeReward gives its participants points for completion. These aren't arbitrary points like Foursquare. Rather, they are points that are eventually redeemed for cash. That's right - cash. WeReward links up to users' PayPal accounts and are able to be cashed in once users generate a minimum of 1000 points.

WeReward rewards with cash now but the future possibilities are endless. The program has the potential to unlock their own product catalog, allowing users to redeem their points for merchandise rather than purely cash. This provides more of a trophy value experience with users and could open up pretty interesting marketing options for consumer brands.

For location-based loyalty programs, engagement and interaction are key players to long-term success. WeReward appears to be on the right track so far, only time will tell. What do you all think?