Rewards + Challenges on SCVNGR = Happy Boston Businesses

CAMBRIDGE, MA–(Marketwire – August 31, 2010) –  Boston you’re my, er, our, home. And we love you. That’s why starting today, Boston is the first city to roll out rewards built on SCVNGR at 50 + local businesses, letting customers do challenges, earn points and, cha-ching! Get awesome rewards (like free drinks, free bowling, an extra scoop of ice cream) all from your mobile phone. All you need to do is show the reward in the SCVNGR app on your phone and voila! Get free goodies galore!

How will you know the businesses that have rewards on SCVNGR you might ask? Open your eyes, the signs are everywhere! Each business involved will have sweet schwag — we’re talking everything from stickers to outdoor signage, drink coasters for your brew-ha to coffee sleeves for your venti, no foam, 6 pump extra hot chai tea latte (because it’s tres lame to order just a tall coffee these days).

“Back in July we announced the rewards feature on SCVNGR and since then we’ve been blown away with the interest from local businesses in this fresh new approach of engaging with customers on their smartphones,” said Seth Priebatsch, SCVNGR’s Chief Ninja. “Building rewards on SCVNGR is the best way to leverage mobile, location, social and gaming to make mobile sense (and cents, ha I can’t get enough of that pun) for businesses.”

Check out (and check-in at) some of these socially happening places and challenges in and around Boston:

• Hey rockstar, snap a photo of the artist or band performing at Middle East restaurant and nightclub — score 20% off your meal
• I scream, you scream, we all love free ice cream! Embark on a taste bud adventure by heading to Toscanini’s and naming the ingredients you would use for a new frozen treat — get a free super scoop of ice cream!
• Design your ideal 3 course menu at Aquitaine Boston and Aquitaine Chestnut Hill — buy the Plate du Jour for yourself and get one for your friend half-off
• Snap a pic of your best bowling victory pose at Kings Lanes bowling lanes — buy one get one free tickets
• Head to Lir restaurant and pick what you think is the most under-rated drink on the menu — snag a free (non-alcoholic) drink
• Snap a pig-ture of your favorite piece of porcine art on the walls at Whiskey’s Smokehouse — free nachos, nom nom!
• Rename one of the menu items at Middlesex Lounge after a song title or artist (can we say Bri-ce Springsteen sandwich?) — free chips & dip

For a full list of participating businesses in Boston visit http://scvngr.com/clients including: Al Wadi Restaurant, All Asian Cuisine and Bar, Ball Square Fine Wines, Bark Place Inc., Bluestone Bistro, Cafe Luna, Central Bottle Wine & Provisions, Conor Larkins Grill and Tap, El Pelon, Fajitas and ‘Ritas, Glow Tanning, Greenlight Cafe, Liquid Hair Studio, Metropolis Cafe, MK Boxing, Nicole Pizza, South End Athletic Company, The Blue Room, The Meat House, U Chef and Union Bar and Grille.

Rewards on SCVNGR is rapidly heading to other large U.S. cities! If you’re a local business and want to get involved sign up here. The first 50 small businesses in each city will get to do so for free (usually $80/month).

It’s really a no-brainer — SCVNGR is insanely effective at driving traffic to a business location, strengthening customer engagement, activating viral buzz and increasing sales, measurably and reproducibly. Most importantly, it’s something simple that customers can do to have fun. And they’ll earn something awesome to reward their engagement and loyalty.

So, grab the free SCVNGR app from the Android Market or Apple App Store. Open it up. Go to places in Boston. Do challenges. Earn points and unlock awesome rewards! 

About SCVNGR
SCVNGR is a game. Playing is simple: Go places. Do challenges. Earn points! You’ll unlock real-world rewards and share where you are and what you’re up to with your friends on SCVNGR, Facebook and Twitter. SCVNGR is played via a free iPhone & Android app. But playing SCVNGR is only half of it. Individuals, enterprises and small businesses build on SCVNGR by adding custom challenges and rewards at their locations. SCVNGR is funded by Google Ventures and Highland Capital Partners. Visit www.scvngr.com to learn more.