Location-based marketer PlacePunch launches

Startup works with specifically with businesses to target consumers on location

Don’t be surprised if you get a personalized tweet from the coffee shop across the street in the near future.  It might be offering you a free cup of coffee in celebration of your fifth check-in for the month.  Such location-based marketing campaigns are on the move. PlacePunch launched this week its own location-based marketing platform, and signed up InterContinental Hotels as one of its first clients.

The PlacePunch platform allows businesses and franchises of any size to create online marketing campaigns for location-based social networks and build loyalty programs to reward customers for checking in at their venues.  For example, the aforementioned coffee shop might be part of a chain of coffee shops (we’ll call it Smarbucks) and it might reward you with a buy-one-get-one-free coupon for checking in at one of its venues 10 times on Foursquare. 

Businesses can also set up an automated Twitter program through PlacePunch to communicate directly with customers, so Smarbucks might send out an automatic personalized Twitter message based on how many times a customer has visited, what time a customer visits a venue, or which location a customer visits.

Additionally, the PlacePunch platform also allows businesses to “track” customer behavior, to see when and where customers check in to certain venues or locations.  PlacePunch provides reports and analytics to note when customers check in, which locations are getting the most traffic, and how effective different rewards programs are.  Businesses can also find out who their top customers are and how often those customers are visiting, in addition to finding out what other businesses those customers visit.

The Atlanta, Georgia-based startup, which received seed funding from Shotput Ventures, will be grappling with the likes of Context Optional, Sprout Social, and several other companies that have developed to help brands run marketing campaigns on social networking sites.  Context Optional developed in 2006 to connect brands and local businesses with Facebook members via Facebook Places, and is currently launching a customizable Facebook Places check-in leaderboard so that brands can recognize users who check-in to certain Facebook Places venues.

Two weeks ago Sprout Social launched its social media management platform, which uses social networks like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Foursquare to help businesses connect with customers, manage promotions, contacts, and target new users on social networks. 

PlacePunch could not be reached for comment, but the website offers a free 30-day trial and a month-to-month contract thereafter. 

Image source: adquantify.com