Will Pongr Be the Next Social Media Giant?
Pongr, a photo-marketing social media company, connects people with the brands they use and love by asking its users to take and submit photos with a brand’s product or ad. The success of sites like Pinterest and Instagram shows the power of visual content. The question becomes, is Pongr the next big thing or a social fad?
How it works
Once a person takes a picture, they email it from their phone or computer to brandname@pongr.com. Pongr technology validates that the logo or product is visible. Pongr incentivizes the interaction by offering rewards once users reach a certain number of points/submissions, and it awards titles to the most frequent submitters. A Pongr user can become “CEO” of a brand, like how a 4sqr user can become “Mayor” of a check-in location.
What Pongr can do for brands
- Engagement opportunities: Brands can use promotions and sweepstakes, social media sharing, loyalty program integration, and retail intelligence data to encourage consumers to use Pongr for their brand.
- Combines traditional and social ads: A consumer takes a picture of a product ad in a magazine, sends it to Pongr on their smartphone, and is directed to a mobile coupon or point-of-purchase page for that product.
- Crowdsourced content: Brands receive tons of user-generated photos that shed light on how your products are really interpreted by consumers.
The disadvantages of Pongr
- Lack of reputation: Because Pongr doesn't have mass awareness yet, consumers don't yet know what to do with Pongr or know the benefits. Ramp up time is daunting when sites like Pinterest and Instragram grow so much each day.
- Cost: The basic plan starts at $1900/month for up to 2,500 Pongr fans. This is a decent chunk of a marketing budget and Pongr will need to prove it deserves those dollars before brands hand over the money.
Pongr and moms
There’s no denying that moms love taking pictures—especially of their kids. Young moms, aged 18-30, take nearly 200 photos in a 3-month period, compared to an average of 126 photos for non-moms in the same age group. Moms also use their cameras more frequently: 68% reported using their digital camera multiple times per week, versus just 37% of non-moms.
Celebrations are a major incentive to take pictures as moms want to remember birthday parties, holidays, and themed events. This provides an opportunity for businesses in the celebrations industry to engage with their customers after the purchase of products like tableware, beverages, and decorations, and after the event itself.
As moms take pictures, Pongr provides an easy way for them to engage with the brands they love and earn rewards. Getting a coupon for sending in a picture is more fun than searching for discounts online or paging through a newspaper insert.
Brands already using Pongr
Several major brands, such as Dunkin Donuts and Condé Nast, have created successful marketing campaigns through Pongr. Sierra Mist launched a campaign to promote Sierra Mist Cranberry Splash, asking consumers to submit a photo of the product and offering a 3-month supply of Sierra Mist as the grand prize. The promotion has been integrated across social platforms as consumers can also enter by tweeting a photo with #CranSplash. This cross-promotion is a great way to engage more consumers and maximize publicity.
As social media platforms shift in popularity, it can be difficult to know which ones are fads and which will last. Pongr’s combination of crowd-sourced content and visual media creates a powerful platform. Though it has had campaigns with high profile brands, Pongr is still working to establish name recognition. The long term success of Pongr will depend on its ability to generate consumer awareness and brand engagement. If it can do this, Pongr has the potential to become the next Pinterest or Instagram—moms love to engage with social media and visual content.
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