Is the New Check-In on TV?

By Ted Dillon, Captains of Industry


Pepsi recently announced a new check-in style promotion using your TV and phone.  If you audio-ID their TV ad with the mobile app IntoNow (similar to those that identify songs), Pepsi sends a free Pepsi coupon to your phone.  Now that’s a check-in.  You don’t have to get up from your couch, nor do you have to shout from the rooftops where you are by sharing your exact location with the Internet.


Companies have been struggling lately, wondering if TV ads are so passive now that they’re wasteful spending.  Well, with the help of this promotion, Pepsi could ward off the dreaded fast forward habits of TV watchers.  Pepsi has the added perk of gaining market research—when their ads are being watched, and whether it’s on live TV, DVR, or even on the web.


Everybody has been saying that Check-Ins are due to die this year.  Facebook Places has never gotten a lot of use, and Four Square check-ins are going out of style.  But is the underlying idea going to go away? Nope, it’s just shapeshifting.


Check-Ins are changing because of their big disadvantages: paranoia and effort.  First off, most people don’t want to tell the Internet where they are and when they’re not home.  For me, it’s my inner mom reminding me by saying, “Be careful of the Internet, it’s a haven for perverts and thieves.”  And secondly, opening my phone and checking in everywhere I go is not worth the effort just to become the mayor of a location.


Pepsi’s project orients Check-Ins with a situation (watching TV) more than with a location—less effort, less paranoia. Pepsi has the future in its hands.